Scunthorpe United v Barnsley
Glanford Park
Coca-Cola Championship - Tuesday, February 16, 2010
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FULL-TIME
Scunthorpe United 2 Barnsley 1
United never, ever fail to entertain, one way or another. I think I've experienced every emotion available to a football fan at tonight's game, but thankfully, at the end of it all, feel the one I want to feel: delight.
Turning that into a win at the death is some feat. That is just what the Doctor ordered to assist the Iron's fight against the drop.
SECOND-HALF
93 Minutes: Goal! Following a prolonged attack, which looked like it was going to come to nothing, Matt Sparrow gets onto the ball. He sees Hayes to his left, plays it neatly, and the former Barnsley man does the rest with a sublime finish. I didn't think that would come!
Scunthorpe United 2 Barnsley 1
90 Minutes: Scunthorpe force a series of fruitless corners as four minutes are added.
87 Minutes: Martyn Woolford is tripped as he surges through. It looked like Carl Dickinson was the last man, but clearly the referee disagrees, as he only books him. McCann sends the resulting free-kick off the wall and wide.
86 Minutes: Come on Scunthorpe. That's what everyone is thinking. But the truth is that they haven't looked at all like scoring since Barnsley pulled level. They're going out without a bang tonight, in all honesty.
81 Minutes: Hayes chips in an effort, which Luke Steele turns behind, resulting in a goal-kick. I guess the shot had already drifted out of play when Steele got his hand to it. Well, at least in the opinion of the referee.
78 Minutes: Goal! You're never safe at 1-0. Daniel Bogdanovic makes the most of some hesitant defending by Rob Jones to roll the ball across goal and equalise.
Scunthorpe United 1 Barnsley 1
72 Minutes: A booking is given to McCann after he's turned by Filipe Teixeira, so consequently brings him to the floor. That was a case of taking one for the team I suppose.
70 Minutes: Scunthorpe make a pretty vivid set of changes. In fact, they make all three of their available ones at once, replacing Josh Wright, Togwell and Raynes with McCann, O'Connor and Andrew Wright.
68 Minutes: United are still making chances. They've just had a string of attacks with Hooper figuring in each of them. But Barnsley aren't done for yet, as Bogdanovic just reminded us when he headed at Murphy from close-range.
67 Minutes: I have to say that both tonight, and last week when he was in the starting team at West Brom, Matt Sparrow has played really well. Seconds ago, he had his back to goal, but still managed to flick a cross into the box over his head. He really is putting the effort in.
63 Minutes: Bad control by Bogdanovic means that he is forced to pass when he might rather have shot from within the area. That means that David Mirfin is able to track-back, and spare United's blushes at the back with a diving interceptive tackle.
60 Minutes: The second change of the day for Barnsley is the introduction of Daniel Bogdanovic, who is brought on in place of Andersen De Silva; seconds after Teixeira misses an absolute sitter.
58 Minutes: A poor first touch from Gary Hooper costs him another goal when he gets in a good five-yards behind the visiting defence. Although he stabs an eventual shot at goal, Luke Steele manages to save it. The ball then goes to Togwell, who tries an audacious long-range effort; but it flies off-target (just).
55 MInutes: The goal can basically be used as a marker to show how much Scunthorpe have improved in this second-half. Inevitably, Barnsley have responded to the falling behind by pushing forwards; but that's giving the likes of Hooper and Sparrow holes in the Tykes defensive ranks to try and expose.
50 Minutes: Goal! Hayes starts the move - giving the ball to Matthew Sparrow on the wing, who duly smacks it across the box. Gary Hooper makes sure that he alligns himself with it, and then fires the Iron ahead from close-range.
Scunthorpe United 1 Barnsley 0
48 Minutes: When Martyn Woolford powers his way through midfield, it looks like something positive might be coming Scunthorpe's way. But when he passes it, he gets just a little bit too much power behind it - and it's intercepted before it reaches Gary Hooper.
45 Minutes: The visiting side get affairs back underway. Just before that, however, Gary Hooper has a quick word with the referee about something.
HALF-TIME
Scunthorpe United 0 Barnsley 0
Half-time arrives, drawing to a close a fairly dull period of play, in which United have been pretty average.
In fact, I'd say that Barnsley have probably edged it in terms of possession and chances, especially as the half drew on; but on balance, I don't think either goalie has had a serious shot to save. I hope for a better second period.
FIRST-HALF
45 Minutes: The half moves into added time, with Barnsley still in the ascendancy.
41 Minutes: When Adam Hammill curls a low, long-range shot towards goal, Joe Murphy is easily beaten. It goes wide of the post, but is greeted with series of groans from the crowd, who are watching their team be muscled out of this one.
39 Minutes: When a Barnsley attack is cleared by the Iron, Nathan Doyle latches onto it, and sends a volley flying over the bar. Basically, he tried to replicate what we saw Sylvinhio do for Manchester City here a few weeks ago: but not very well.
35 Minutes: Keiran Tripper has to be replaced by Bobby Hasell following a head injury to the former.
32 Minutes: Teixeira continues to cause United problems at the back. Even when he's faced by two players he seems to navigate a way around them. In his latest contribution he shrugs off Josh Wright, before laying off Adam Hammill, who sends a curling and dipping shot over the bar.
29 Minutes: Filipe Teixeira dribbles into the box from a wide position. He eventually stops twinkling his toes and shoots, but his effort comes back off Williams. Barnsley then force a corner, and are starting to look dangerous.
27 Minutes: For the first time in, well, a long time, Barnsley manage to pop the ball into the Iron box. After few shoves are thrown about, United are awarded a free-kick, however, and Murphy clears the danger.
23 Minutes: A half-volley is thrashed wide of the post by Gary Hooper from a semi-long distance. He's had a few chances today, and I think there's a goal in this game for him somewhere along the line.
17 Minutes: After beating the last man, Darren Moore, by a whisker; Gary Hooper sends a shot at goal which Luke Steelemanages to catch. It was straight at him, mind you.
13 Minutes: Martyn Woolford is slipped in, but on his weaker right-foot and with little time, manages only to blast his attempt off the last defender.,
12 Minutes: Michael Raynes travels forwards for a set-piece. But the fact that he wins the ball in the box doesn't really matter as nobody on his team moves to greet it.
6 Minutes: After some pretty forgetable early play, Barnsley create the first chance of the day. But it's fired over Murphy's goal from around eighteen-yards by Anderson De Silva after a nice turn.
1 Minute: The game starts with a United kick-off. Scunny are in claret and blue; Barnsley in red.
TEAM NEWS
United freshen things up a little bit, with the introduction of Matt Sparrow and Martyn Woolford to the starting eleven.
That's at the expense of Michael O'Connor and Grant McCann, as Nigel Adkins looks to play with a less centralised system than the one that crumbled so spectacularly at Leicester on Saturday.
SCUN: Murphy, Williams, Togwell, Sparrow, Hayes, Hooper, Jones (c), Mirfin, Woolford, J. Wright, Raynes. SUBS: Lillis A. Wright, Milne, McCann, Forte, O'Connor, McDermott.
BARN: Steele, Moore, Collace, Foster (c), Teixeira, De Silva, Tripper, Hammill, Gray, Dickinson, Doyle. SUBS: Preece, Hassell, Rodriguez, Bogdanovic, Butterfield, Macken, Potter.
PREAMBLE
Scunthorpe United: fresh from a hefty and demoralising defeat and now perilously close to (one point above) the relegation zone; Barnsley: fresh from a not-so-hefty but possibly even more demoralising defeat (to Plymouth), their second loss on the bounce.
Throw those two sets of circumstances into the context of their next football match, stir them around a little, and what do you get?
An adequate sized backlash from both teams! Stay online and click 'refresh' for live text updates of it...
