Barnsley 2 - 0 Coventry City

[dutchman]

[dutchman]

Tony Mowbray's side fell to back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Tykes



The synchronicity was all but perfect – thanks to Leap Year’s 24-hour adjustment, Tony Mowbray returned to Barnsley precisely 364 days after he was unveiled as the Sky Blues’ new manager.

Back then he took a watching brief from the Oakwell directors box as stop-gap Neil MacFarlane’s team, fresh from a momentous victory against Championship-bound MK Dons, stumbled to a 1-0 defeat in a match that was every ounce as depressing as the miserable conditions.

As befitting the first day of Spring the temperature was comparatively barmy in South Yorkshire last night although City spent the first ten minute kicking into a fierce, wind-driven shower. But the outcome was the same as City’s current dead-ball vulnerability was exposed by a side who have made a speciality of setpieces on their remarkable rise up the League One table.

Mowbray made two changes from Saturday’s submission to Steven Pressley’s Fleetwood, recalling veteran duo Stephen Hunt and Marcus Tudgay with James Maddison on the bench while Joe Cole was rested for future challenges. And the Sky Blues boss took a leaf out of Mike Bassett’s tactical book by mirroring the 4-4-2 formation that has proved so successful for Tykes caretaker Paul Heckingbottom.

City survived an early scare as Williams picked out Fletcher for a close-range header that Charles-Cook flipped over the bar and the keeper again had to react sharply in the tenth minute to divert Isgrove’s angled shot. This time, however, the reprieve was momentary as Hourihane curled in the corner and man-mountain centre-back Roberts climbed highest to power his header into the top corner.

Davies was distinctly fortunate in the 18th minute when he shovelled Armstrong’s skidding 25-yarder round the post but Charles-Cook looked more in control of the situation as he parried Hourihane’s blast from similar range.

Tudgay and Hunt were unable to conjure up the required power to finish off promising City moves before Charles-Cook again had to earn his corn, pulling off a last-ditch tackle on Fletcher when a dodgy back-pass by Ricketts, of all people, sold him short.

But Fleck, given more licence to attack by the revamped formation, volleyed just wide from Hunt’s cross and City trooped off at half-time to an encouraging ovation from their knot of hard-core supporters.

As usual in Yorkshire the home supporters were deeply affronted whenever the referee gave City the occasional 50/50 decision and even took umbrage when Williams was pulled up – but not booked – for a reckless diving tackle on Vincelot that forced the Frenchman to hobble off barely a minute later.

Strangely Mr Joyce did produce his yellow card for a routine Ricketts foul on Watkins. But when the City skipper was again penalised in the 62nd minute the repercussions were far more serious as Hourihane’s deep free-kick found Roberts challenging at the far post and the ball dropped for Fletcher to roll over the line.

Mowbray responded by introducing the guile of Maddison and the muscle of Henderson but although the Norwich-bound midfielder produced a couple of reasonable efforts it was Barnsley who went closest to scoring as Chapman couldn’t quite find the finish to match his brilliant run down the right.

A disappointing anniversary for Mowbray, then, but no need to panic just yet. Last year that first-day defeat didn’t prove fatal to City’s fight for survival and although their play-off hopes are faltering – they now head Barnsley on goal-difference alone – they remain in the play-off zone and the Tykes’ transformation proves just how dramatically form can change in this division.