Barnsley revival built on defence

NOBODY gave Barnsley a prayer three weeks ago.

Without a manager after sacking Danny Wilson and with dignity compromised following a 5-1 thumping at lowly Crawley, discontent hung thick in the air at Oakwell.

“Stuffed by a side who were in the Conference five years ago,” read an unhappy internet message board missive from a Reds fan. “What next?”

Well, ‘next’ was Lee Johnson stepping in as manager, a role he took on from caretaker pair Mark Burton and Paul Heckingbottom.

Results have been turned on their head and no longer do Barnsley fans wince when looking at the Sky Bet League One table.

From a position of 19th, post-Crawley, the turnaround has been dramatic.

Barnsley have picked up five victories in a row — including three under Johnson’s stewardship — and are now seventh, level on points with Doncaster who occupy the last of the play-off spots.

Promotion straight back to the Championship is no longer the remotest of possibilities.

The sudden burst of form Johnson talked about requiring when in charge of Athletic has come into effect after his controversial switch to South Yorkshire.

And aiming to make it a super six victories in succession is another man Athletic fans know well, Jabo Ibehre.

The powerful striker played 12 games on loan for Athletic this season, scoring twice, before heading back to parent club Colchester.

Last week he was reunited with Johnson in a new loan deal and his manager hopes Ibehre’s unselfish acts can help benefit his fellow forwards.

“Jabo knows League One inside out and he is a big, strong boy who can get hold of the play,” Johnson said.

“He is not an unbelievable goal scorer, but he takes defenders away and he is technically better than people give him credit for. A lot of strikers around him score a lot of goals.”

Ibehre is fighting for a place up front with the equally imposing and in-form George Waring.

On loan from Stoke, Waring stands at 6ft 5in and has scored four times in his last three outings — including an excellent solo effort last week against Walsall.

THE FORM . . .

Athletic look to have a heck of a job on breaching the Barnsley defence.

It has now been 457 minutes since the Tykes let in a goal, Izale McLeod’s third in the Crawley loss on Valentine’s Day.

Results have been ground out rather than acquired through spellbinding play, but few Reds fans are complaining given the sharp turnaround in form.

There are some tough tests yet to come — Preston, Bristol City, Sheffield United, Peterborough and Bradford all await — but at the moment things are looking up.

PLAYER GUIDE . . .

Ben Pearson handed Barnsley a major boost this week by extending his loan from Manchester United through to the end of the season.

The 20-year-old, who hails from Chadderton and played for Boundary Park Juniors, originally signed for the club in January and impressed with his energy in midfield, including in Barnsley’s 1-0 win over Athletic on February 3.

The strong defence includes a pair of full-backs who have progressed through the academy in Mason Holgate (18) and George Smith (18), while further upfield Blackburn’s young winger John O’Sullivan is one of six players currently on loan at Oakwell.

Up front, Johnson has been recently boosted by the return to fitness of last season’s leading scorer in League Two, Sam Winnall.

The summer signing from Scunthorpe netted in the 3-0 win over Walsall last week after coming on as a substitute.

EXPERT VIEW . . .

Ashley Ball, Barnsley Chronicle: “It wasn’t long ago that things looked extremely bleak. Now Barnsley are one goal behind Doncaster in sixth. It is outrageous really.

“Clean sheets are a major factor and Lee Johnson hasn’t really had to change an awful lot since coming in.”

LINE-UP . . . 4-5-1

Davies; Holgate, Crainey, Nyatanga, Smith; O’Sullivan, Pearson, Scowen, Hourihane, Lalkovic; Waring.


SCORING BOOTS . . . George Waring has scored four goals in his last three games for Barnsley.