Barnsley v Millwall: Hat-trick chance for the Reds

HAD things turned out differently in the League One play-offs, Wembley could have been looking forward to two Yorkshire derbies in as many days.
Paul Heckingbotton, Barnsley's head coach.Paul Heckingbotton, Barnsley's head coach.
Paul Heckingbotton, Barnsley's head coach.

Barnsley and Bradford City had gone into the semi-finals in fine form to raise hopes of a third all-White Rose encounter in the history of the League One final.

Alas, the Bantams’ first-leg defeat at home to Millwall proved too much of a hurdle to overcome and it is the Londoners who will now face Paul Heckingbottom’s Reds with the price of a place in the Championship at stake.

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Barnsley will be on familiar ground, the club having triumphed under the Arch just last month in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final against Oxford United. But the Lions, too, know all about the national stadium, having appeared in the 2009 and 2010 League One finals. Manager Neil Harris played in both those finals so his side will be well briefed on the unique challenges that come with playing at Wembley when one false move can shatter an entire season.

Barnsley may have been denied an all-Yorkshire showdown to follow the finals between Doncaster Rovers-Leeds United (2008) and Huddersfield Town-Sheffield United (2012).

But, if the two meetings between Sunday’s combatants are to serve as any form of guide, Heckingbottom’s men could be in for an afternoon to remember with Barnsley having followed August’s last-gasp 3-2 win at The Den with a 2-1 triumph in the return.