Barnsley v Scunthorpe United
Oakwell
Coca-Cola Championship - Wednesday, December 9, 2009
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FULL-TIME
Barnsley 1 Scunthorpe United 1
Scunthorpe will take that. Barnsley are on the up at the moment, so that's not a bad point by any means.
Most importaintly, it means that United are unbeaten in three, and confidence-wise, that will work wonders. Reading are up next on Saturday, and that will now be another game that United will feel certain they can get something from.
SECOND-HALF
94 Minutes: McCann fires his free-kick just over. It was a difficult angle, but he still looks a little upset not to have put it on-target.
92 Minutes: There's a brief melee, so while that unfolds, I'll tell you McCann's free-kick is away to the left side. It's not ideally situated, but its a chance all the same. It could well be the last chance to honest.
91 Minutes: Just so you know, United are still in the Barnsley half. They win a free-kick, which Grant McCann wants to take,..
90 Minutes: Four minutes are to be added, says the referee.
88 Minutes: United are doing a bit of attacking at the moment. They're moving the ball around the Barnsley half very well at the actually in the last few moments, but have lacked that cutting-edge so far. Can they find it? If they can they'll take three very welcome points.
84 Minutes: Barnsley's substitute Jamal Campbell-Ryce comes out of midfield and fires a shot at goal. It swerves in the air a little, and would probably have caused Murphy a problem or two if it went on-target - but it didn't.
81 Minutes: Grant McCann goes down the line, gets in a cross, and wins a corner. He goes over to knock it in, placing it towards the tall frame of Rob Jones - but Jones is crowded-out, and kept off the ball..
79 Minutes: Somebody from a Barnsley-orientated radio station sat next to me has just described a draw as "odds-on". I'm glad he thinks so, because as a Scunny fan, I can still see a Barnsley goal left in this. Isn't it weird how your perspective as a supporter changes how you see a game unfolding?
77 Minutes: Sub by Scunthorpe - Hooper's replaced by Forte, Forte has come on in this sort of situation before and done well. Can he do so again this eveing?
75 Minutes: Deep defending from Rob Jones clears the ball from the United box. Scunthorpe are holding on at the moment, but are under alot of pressure. Jonathan Forte is warming up for Scunthorpe. I think he'll be on soon,
72 Minutes: Sub by Barnsley - Andreson De Silva is replaced by Campbell-Ryce. Campbell-Ryce, in my view, has shown himself to be a very capable player in the past, and will play a key part in the rest of Barnsley's evening.
70 Minutes: Hammill gets a cross into the box, which Joe Murphy flaps at a little, almost allowing Anderson De Silva to stab home. Thankfully though, Da Silva's close-range shooting lacks accuracy.
68 Minutes: United are saved from going by behind by Cliff Byrne, who gets an inch-perfect foot in on Carl Dickinson as he surges into the penalty area.
62 Minutes: Sub by Barnsley and Scunthorpe - Scunny replace George Friend with Andy Wright. That's pretty bad news actually. That's the second left-back United have had to replace this match. Iain Hume comes on for Barnsley meanwhile, in place of Daniel Bogdanovic.
58 Minutes: Goal for Scunthorpe! That's refreshing. I have to admit, I expected United to crumble when Barnsley scored, but they haven't, and within minutes have found a way back into it. Paul Hayes grabs it (it had to come from one of the ex-Barnsley boys, didn't it!) with a crouching header at the back-post after a left-wing corner had caused chaos for The Tykes.
Barnsley 1 Scunthorpe United 1
56 Minutes: At least there's some atmosphere in the ground now. The Barnsley fans are in much better voice. According to them, Scunthorpe are going "down with the Wednesday". On the pitch, United have injected a little more pace and urgency into their game since the goal though, I must say.
53 Minutes: Goal for Barnsley! Hugo Calace gets it. He taps home from inside the area, following good work on the right-wing by his teamates.
Barnsley 1 Scunthorpe United 0
50 Minutes: Naive defending from Barnsley means they're reduced to hacking Garry Thompson down to halt a United attack. Scunny duly win a free-kick, and Grant McCann comes mightily close to haunting his old club from it. His twenty-five yard effort is placed on-target, but Luke Steele manages to claw it past the post.
48 Minutes: Anderson De Silva misses what in my view, was an absolute sitter. For a professional footballer it was anyway. He was supplied the ball in the box from a free-kick, but despite having a clear sight of goal, couldn't twist in order to get a shot away.
45 Minutes: Sub by Barnsley - for the start of the second period, our hosts alter things a little. Stephen Foster's taken off, and Darren Moore slots into defence instead of him. We're back underway now, by the way.
HALF-TIME
Barnsley 0 Scunthorpe United 0
At half-time, this game is there for either team to take. Barnsley have maybe done a little bit more probing, but United are not out of it, and have had some highly convincing spells of possession.
Basically, this is one of those games where I feel that the team who scores first will have enough to hold on and win. This has 1-0 written all over it - but in which teams favour, I don't know.
FIRST-HALF
45 Minutes: The first-half finishes with Barnsley attacking.
40 Minutes: I'll say it, even though I know all it's going to do is tempt a fate (touchwood!) - but United are edging it at the moment. If The Iron can just make a clear-cut chance, they might just take what (judging on the last five minutes) would be a deserved lead.
35 Minutes: Paul Hayes goes down under a heavy challenge, incensing the Barnsley crowd, but meaning that United get a free-kick in a great area. Garry Thompson angles it into the box, but Rob Jones guides his header wide.
29 Minutes: Sub by Scunthorpe - Marcus Williams toddles (well, actually he sort of limps) off. George Friend replaces him. Williams then makes his way along the touchline and down the tunnel. He looks dejected.
27 Minutes: For sytematic fouling (he's made three of them so far), Cliff Byrne finds himself in the referee's notebook.
20 Minutes: Ryan Shotton connects nicely with an inswinging corner - forcing Joe Murphy into a typically wonderful save. Shotton's headed attempt was dipping, and had Murphy not got a hand to it, it was bound for the back of the net.
15 Minutes: The first real chance of the evening falls the way of Barnsley. After the attack described previously, The Tykes went on a counter attack with Daniel Bogdanovic. He got into the United box, before slipping the ball towards the back-post - but United defended it well enough to keep the Yorkshire side out.
14 Minutes: Mirfin, McCann, Hayes and Rob Jones all manage to throw their bodies about in the Barnsley box without fouling a red-shirted player. They flick the ball between them about four times, but never quite manage to carve out a shooting opportunity.
12 Minutes: Corner to Barnsley. Knocked in, and then swiftly headed away by Josh Wright. It wasn't really worth describing in all fairness - but it was more exciting than anything else that has happened recently all the same.
5 Minutes: United make a decent enough start. About five minutes in, Gary Hooper got the ball and started striding towards goal, but had the ball snatched from him by a defender. On balance, however, Barnsley have done some attacking of their own, and Joe Murphy has touched the ball on more than one occassion during this opening segment of the match.
1 Minute: Barnsley get the game underway. The Tykes are wearing red (United are in their blue change strip), and will attack towards the goal which the United fans are seated behind during the first period of play.
TEAM NEWS
Barnsley: Steele, Kozluk, Shotton, Foster, Dickinson, De Silva, Doyle, Colace, Hammill, Macken, Bogdanovic. Subs: Preece, Hassell, Moore, Hume, Campbell-Ryce, Hallfredsson, Gray.
Scunthorpe United: Muprhy, Jones, Byrne, Mirfin, Williams, McCann, Togwell, J. Wright, Thompson, Hayes, Hooper. Subs: Lillis, A. Wright, Spence, Friend, Sparrow, Forte, Boyes.
For United, Murphy pulls through and makes the starting X1 after leaving the field injured on Sunday. Garry Thompson receives a recall, following a foot injury to Martyn Woolford; and elsewhere, Sam Togwell returns to the team at the expense of the injured Michael O'Connor..
Of course, this game will mean alot to not only Togwell, but Hayes and McCann also. All three have played for Barnsley in the not too distant past, and all come back to Oakwell with a statement to make...
PREAMBLE
Oakwell's pretty empty this evening, and it's a pretty depressing atmosphere - to tell you the truth. The same songs keep coming on over the tannoy (Cheryl Cole, Robbie Williams and Alexander Burke have all aired three times in less than an hour), it's fairly cold, the toilets are abysmal (they're open air for goodness sake! Thank goodness it's not raining!) and the crowd are making about as much noise as a muted television.
That said, it's another night of Championship action, which counts for just as much as any other game this season will. Therefore, for better or for worse, I'm here to describe tonight's game to y'all back home. And I'm sure that if United win, when I wake up and head into work early tomorrow morning, I'll be more than glad to say "I was there!"
SCENE-SETTER
The Iron will be chasing their second away league win of the season when they visit Barnsley on Wednesday night (7.45pm kick-off).
Encouraged by Sunday's vital 1-0 home win over Coventry, Scunthorpe head in to it full of optimism and hopeful that they can get the result which would take them up a place to 17th in the Championship table.
Manager Nigel Adkins will be hoping that goalkeeper Joe Murphy is passed fit for the clash with Mark Robins' side.
The former Tranmere goalkeeper was stretchered off on Sunday after bruising his knee following a collision with the goalpost, but he trained for part of Tuesday's session.
Josh Lillis will deputise for Murphy should he miss out.
Doubtful for the game are Martyn Woolford (cut foot) and Michael O'Connor (dead leg), who might be struggling to make the Oakwell clash.
Sam Togwell looks poised to return to the side against the club he joined Scunthorpe from, while Grant McCann and Paul Hayes also look set to face a former club.
Another player in contention to appear is Garry Thompson, who has made an impact as a substitute in recent weeks and performed admirably for the reserves this season.
Definitely out are Ben May (ankle), Kenny Milne (knee) and Peter Winn (ankle).
Tykes striker Andy Gray faces a late fitness test ahead of the game, as he is struggling with a groin strain.
Barnsley are boosted by the return of midfielder Nathan Doyle, on loan from Hull, who missed the 2-1 weekend win through suspension.
Jamal Campbell-Ryce and Iain Hume appeared as second-half substitutes on Saturday and Robins revealed they all staked their claims for a return to the starting line-up.
The referee for the match is Eddie Ilderton.
