Lady luck smiles on Wilson’s Tykes

BARNSLEY rode their luck at times against Port Vale, but a third straight victory at home represents a record to be respected by Athletic tonight.

Visiting manager Rob Page said afterwards that he was “gobsmacked” by the decisions made by referee Graham Salisbury in the Valiants’ defeat at Oakwell.

One claim was that the ball had gone out of play before ’keeper Chris Neal turned a cross by former Walsall star Milan Lalkovic into his own goal.

And another had it that former Boundary Park Juniors starlet Ben Pearson had made contact with a high boot on Tom Pope in the penalty area, only for spot-kick claims to be waved away.

Pearson’s earlier strike, which was the first of his senior career, turned out to be the match-winner.

Good fortune or not, it handed the Tykes a valuable three points and lifted the club relegated from the Championship last season to 17th in league one, five points behind Athletic.

“I thought the game itself was little bit of a slow-burner,” said Barnsley boss Danny Wilson.

“We started the second half quite well, got a goal with a slight deflection and then it was backs to the wall after that. We had to defend for our lives and I thought we did that.

“We did feel we should have had a penalty. We can talk all day about fouls that have not been given. It’s the referee you’ve got to ask in that respect.

“The performance was arguably secondary, the points were the most important.”

Wilson’s squad reshaping exercise at Oakwell has seen him sign six new players since the transfer window opened at the beginning of the month.

George Williams, Josh Scowen and Lalkovic have been signed on permanent deals, while Pearson, Alex Kiwomya and George Waring have joined on loan.

And Wilson has also extended defender Peter Ramage’s loan deal from Crystal Palace until the end of the season.

But Barnsley’s recent fortunes have been mixed. Before the home victory against Port Vale, Wilson’s side had lost four of their past five fixtures — failing to score in each defeat.