If the build-up to this game was intended to heighten tension then one could consider it mission accomplished. We’d initially been given almost 8,000 tickets (the whole of the huge end behind the goal and half the old stand down the side) but those tickets had been sold immediately. We would have taken more and Barnsley FC would have given us more – but South Yorkshire police said no. Then the kick-off was brought forward to 1.30. I assume this was to cut down on essential drinking. I doubt if as a group we’re quite as bright as a typical year’s intake of Mathematics students at Cambridge University – but I’ve yet to meet an SAFC supporter who couldn’t knock one and a half hours off his usual drinking starting time and start at that time instead. We were also told that there were no “designated away pubs” in Barnsley (our usual criteria is beer – not designation – we’re not a discriminating lot). Finally we were told we couldn’t park at the big car park at the ground (it was needed for our coaches) and there was no parking within a ¼ mile of the ground.
All in all we felt as welcome by South Yorkshire police as the Americans must have as they entered Baghdad. Fortunately we are also capable of planning ahead so we set off bright and early with a list of pubs to try in various directions from, and distances away from, the ground. In some ways we were even better prepared than the Americans as we had a whole stash of cans of beer in the back of the car – in case our bar of choice became Car Park Boozing Al Fresco.
As it happened the first pub we tried (the Outpost) was letting in SAFC fans – and indeed was delighted to exchange our beer tokens for beer. The landlady was panicking as her two extra emergency barmen didn’t turn up until about ten past eleven to be greeted by a “get the f**k behind here and get serving” (probably some traditional Yorkshire greeting). As the session went on people’s ability to translate the time into normal pre-match drinking time got worse. “It’s ten past twelve, what time is that in old money?” elicited answers from five to one to half two, to one fool who panicked and calculated that we’d missed the match already.
And so onto the match and a red and white army in good voice. Mind you one aspect of this mega stand Barnsley now have behind the goal is that it also has mega tannoys. As is so often the case they were turned up to a volume that was truly painful. Is this designed to suppress pre-match singing? I really can’t see what other end it achieves.
The one thing none of us were doing was being complacent about the match. Keano had been emphasising the need to be as professional about this game as any one. But for SAFC supporters getting seven points off the three teams above us and then losing to a team fighting relegation would seem almost like the natural order of things rather than a shock. Our build-up hadn’t been helped by losing the impressive Edwards for the season and then Yorke for this match. On top of that we’d heard that Stokes, Hysen and Fulop had been late for the team coach so Keano had, quite rightly, dropped them from the squad. The useless little bastards ought to be given a kicking within an inch of their lives. These arrogant gits don’t realise how fortunate they are. The least they could do is show respect for their team mates, the club and the poor sods who are paying their massive wages. Stokes in particular seems determined to act the big time Charlie well, well before he has actually produced anything of note. If anyone can pull him round it is Keano – but it would be nice if some of those who are in a position to influence him would also help in that regard.
So we ended up with Leadbitter on the right wing and Wallace on the left. Neither had particularly impressive games (Wallace really has gone off the boil since he first came and looked the business). However, credit is due to Leadbitter for sticking at it in an unfamiliar role. His work-rate never stopped and he did get his goal – and play an unsung part in the second goal (I think).
We took the game to them in the first half, attacking the opposite end from where the bulk of us were. However, we weren’t getting the challenging last balls – it was hard not to believe we were missing Edwards, who has been responsible for so many of the quality balls into dangerous areas recently. Stern John was holding the ball up well and Connolly was working hard – but neither seemed to be receiving balls in the box that they could make something of. In fact the best chance came in a rare Barnsley attack when one of their players swivelled in the box, only to pull his shot wide when really he should have scored.
You could tell from the mood of the crowd how the game was going. Despite the huge numbers and the carnival atmosphere coming in, there was not the exuberance of the Sheff Wed, Birmingham or West Brom games.
We still went in at half-time thinking we could win it. In fact if anything Barnsley more came into it in the second half. Fortunately Nuggsy and Evans stood as strong as ever and Ward continued to exude confidence. In the middle I’d say Whitehead was playing the game of his life – except he seems to be playing like this every match. More than most I think his confidence was shattered by getting stuffed week in, week out last season and the start of this. But Keano has rebuilt him in his own mould to be a central midfielder who seems to dominate most of the playing area.
Keane decided to switch Stern John for Murphy in a sign that things were not quite happening for us. We did eventually score. It seemed to me to be quite late on so I was surprised to read when I got home that it was 67 minutes. It was telling that the goal came from an excellent strike from the edge of the box. The ball came widish to Leadbitter on the right. He had time to steady himself and then took one of those Gerrard/Lampard/Scholes type whacks that we know he can do. The goaly got something to it but Leadbitter had knocked it across the goal so there was little chance that the goaly was going to prevent it going in. Despite the speed the ball was travelling mind it still seemed to take an age before the inside side netting was being pushed outwards by the ball and we felt confident enough to go mental (including some lads in the home stand to our left, who then made a dash for our end while the natives went several notches about “restless”).
I’d watched Barnsley just the other week on the telly at Stoke where they’d got an early goal and defended so well that Stoke didn’t have a shot on goal. So I knew they could defend – but could they attack now that they had to? The answer was not as well as we could defend. However, I was still pleased to see the fourth official hold up the sign saying only three minutes additional time. As time ticked on we booted a long ball out of defence and Connolly was chasing from about the half way line down the inside left channel. He got it under control but there were two defenders on him. He twisted inside and from the edge of the box fired a low, hard shot towards the near post. Leadbitter made a darting run across the goaly in a quite ridiculously offside position but made no contact – however, he must have distracted the goaly (does that count as interfering?). Certainly whatever would have happened in any case it made sure the goaly didn’t get it. And so we spent the last few seconds bellowing out the David Connolly song.
After the match Keane was as focused as ever. To describe this guy as “single minded” doesn’t even began to describe how concentrated his approach is. The other results were canny over the week-end so we are now clear in third position, only three points behind Derby having played the same number of games. But unlike the SAFC we know and get exasperated by, I might be worried we won’t win against Stoke on Tuesday but I won’t be worried that we won’t approach the game in exactly the right frame of mind.
As a post-script, when Keane took over I said I’d be happy if he could just avoid relegation. That might sound crazy now – but after the fifteen point season and watching us lose away to Coventry and Southend, at home to Birmingham and Plymouth and get knocked out of the League Cup by Bury, I could hardly be accused of panicking. This week-end’s results mean that mathematically we can now not be relegated. I am happy.
John aka Herts