It was Sheffield United who stole the show on Easter Saturday as they beat local rivals Barnsley 2-0 at Oakwell.
Barnsley were unbeaten in 9 coming into this game but never really got going from the off. However, they did have the majority of the ball in the opening exchanges but they didn’t gain anything to show for it. The Tykes’ midfield really controlled the ball and the game well but never created anything that would’ve worried Mark Howard in the Blades goal.
After 15 minutes, the Blades finally seemed to find their stride and became comfortable in the game and it seemed that Barnsley’s ideas fountain had run dry already. Nigel Clough’s men really began to stretch their legs and became ever more comfortable with the ball. Ryan Flynn and Bob Harris were a constant thorn in Barnsley’s side as the Blades went on the offensive. Chances came and went for both sides but it was the away side who struck first. A Kieron Freeman free kick from the right hand side was floated in towards the towering head of on-loan Blackpool striker Steven Davies who rose above everyone else and headed powerfully past Sheffield Wednesday loan goalkeeper Joel Wildsmith into the far corner of the goal.
It was first blood to the Blades and from there on in, it never looked like the Tykes were going to get back into it. A couple of early second half corners from the home side came to nothing and the control was back in Sheffield United’s hands. The Blades, despite the stats, were in total control of the game and really started to turn on the charisma they can play with when they so desire.
Clough’s men then rewarded their hard work with a well-deserved second goal. The Blades left back Bob Harris launched the ball into the Barnsley box from the sidelines before a scramble in the box saw the ball fall to Hearts midfielder Jason Holt who volleyed a shot that was worthy to seal any win. The Scot fired the ball completely out of reach of Joel Wildsmith who was left stranded by the ferocity of the shot.
With a two goal cushion, the Blades really started to turn up the taunts. Kieron Freeman and Paul Coutts, who arguably had his best game for United, started to show a bit of trickery and confidence down the right hand side which left the Barnsley defence twisting and turning at sixes and sevens. In truth, Lee Johnson’s men had been short of ideas all day and Sheffield United were the greater and stronger performers all afternoon and ended up leaving some of the away fans perplexed as to how the Tykes had been on such a good run.
In the end, it was the Blades who travelled back down the M1 very happy after their resounding win. Has the Lee Johnson bubble burst? We’ll soon see…
Man of the Match
Jason Holt – Another good game for the Scotsman which saw him score another goal to add to his tally. Looked really calm and collected on the ball and always managed to wriggle free from the grasp of the Barnsley players.
