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Plymouth 1 Barnsley 2 - Barnsley secure Championship status
JAMAL Campbell-Ryce scored the goal that removed any last threat of relegation for Barnsley on the final day of the season.
Ironically, even if they had lost, the Tykes would have stayed up because rivals Norwich City were ripped apart at Charlton Athletic.
And who should score a hat-trick in Charlton's 4-2 victory over Norwich but a former Barnsley striker Deon Burton. So all in all, Barnsley had two Jamaican internationals to thank for avoiding the drop.
Manager Simon Davey joined his players on the pitch at the final whistle to celebrate with the 1,600 supporters who had made the 300-mile journey to Devon.
As police dog handlers formed a line to prevent a pitch invasion, players threw shirts into the crowd and supporters expressed their thanks. Next season, however, they will want to avoid another dogfight never mind the dogs.
After missing the last two games with illness, captain Stephen Foster had returned to the centre of defence as a replacement for the injured Dennis Souza. Plymouth had nothing to lose as their survival was already guaranteed but manager Paul Sturrock maintained the integrity of the final weekend by resisting the temptation to blood youngsters.
The Tykes still made a nightmare start and fell behind after just 12 minutes from Plymouth's third corner of the game.
However, within minutes of Gary Sawyer's header looping into the net, news arrived that rivals Norwich had also gone a goal behind at Charlton.
Barnsley supporters with ears to radios spread the word and the mood of the 1,500 travelling contingent quickly improved.
It would have been reckless in the extreme, however, to rely on anyone but themselves to achieve safety.
Urged on by Davey, Barnsley had to push forward and not sit back. Players like Anderson in the centre of the park needed to grasp the nettle and get things moving.
A sloppy pass from Rob Kozluk to Anderson, however, almost had dire consequences. Plymouth's Carl Fletcher intercepted and, within moments, Barnsley were under pressure at the back.
Karl Duguid's centre reached winger Alan Judge at the back post and his blistering close range drive was finger-tipped onto the bar by Steele.
When it dropped into the goalmouth, captain Foster so nearly turned it over his own line but Steele was alert to gather the ball despite the best efforts of Ashley Barnes to score.
Another roar erupted in the Barnsley end – Burton had scored a second goal for Charlton against Norwich.
Things were going right – if not by their own design but by virtue of others.
Once Burton had scored his second goal of the game and made it 3-0 to Charlton with only 30 minutes gone, the battle for survival was virtually won.
With almost perfect timing, Adam Hammill then popped up with an equaliser for Barnsley and put the icing on the cake.
The winger, who was playing the final game of his loan spell from Liverpool, collected a short pass from Jon Macken on the edge of the area and drilled a low shot past goalkeeper Romain Larrieu.
"We are staying up, we are staying up!" sang the Barnsley supporters. And, barring a miraculous recovery by Norwich at The Valley, no one could have argued.
When the half-time whistles blew, Norwich were still losing, albeit 3-1, and Barnsley were still on level terms.
Things could hardly have been going any better and the pressure was off.
The danger now, of course, for Davey and Barnsley was complacency.
Slack marking allowed Barnes a shot at goal virtually straight from the kick-off and served as a timely warning.
There was no need to panic. Moments later, Campbell-Ryce put Barnsley ahead with his 11th goal of the campaign, a neat finish after a great lay-off by Macken.
Stewards and police needed to curb the over-enthusiasm of some fans who wanted to dance on the side of the pitch but it was only a minor blot on the crowd's copybook.
Meanwhile, news from the other game just kept on getting better and better. Burton had completed his hat-trick and put Norwich 4-1 behind on 51 minutes.
Once ahead, Barnsley grew in confidence and passed the ball with greater purpose. Plymouth, however, displayed little urgency to break into the final third.
The absence of anything likely to warrant the description 'heavy challenge' in the final 30 minutes of the game told its own story along with the sight of the Mexican Wave going around the stadium.
The season was over for both clubs. Plymouth mustered a couple of shots near the end but nothing to worry Steele.
So Barnsley got there in the end – but they will definitely want to improve next season.
Plymouth Argyle: Larrieu; Gray, Seip, Barker, Sawyer; Judge (Donnelly 80), Fletcher, Duguid, Gallagher; Barnes (Noone 59), Douala (Mackie 49). Unused substitutes: Timar, Clark.
Barnsley: Steele; Hassell, Foster, Moore, Kozluk; Hammill (Devaney 87), Colace, Anderson, Campbell-Ryce; Bogdanovic (El Haimour 90), Macken (Mifsud 85). Unused substitutes: Muller, Andranik.
Referee: C Penton (Sussex).
MATCH FOCUS
Hero: Deon Burton
Charlton striker Deon Burton. He may have been a flop at Oakwell nine years ago but the former Barnsley loan player scored a hat-trick for already-doomed Charlton against Norwich to send the Canaries down instead of the Tykes. What a star.
Villain: Graham Scott
Who is he? He is the referee who awarded a controversial penalty against Barnsley last month when they were on course to beat Coventry at the Ricoh Arena. But for that, the Tykes would have been spared the last-day drama and could have come down to Home Park and enjoyed their final day of the season with a little bit more ease.
Key moment
25th minute: Luke Steele tips Alan Judge's shot onto the crossbar and keeps Barnsley in the game at 1-0 down.
Ref watch
Clive Penton: Won't have an easier game to referee next season. No yellow cards required and no controversy.
Verdict
Sighs of relief as Barnsley avoid the drop for a third consecutive season. Norwich also lost but the Tykes guaranteed their own survival by winning.
Next game
Newcastle United or Middlesbrough? Maybe even Leeds United?
Quote of the day
If we had lost, I don't think my daughters would have enjoyed their birthday today quite so much!
– Barnsley manager Simon Davey reveals just how much pressure he was under to get a result.
Big match talking points from Home Park
The Tykes are safe! So was the final afternoon of the season as nerve-jangling as ever for the fans?
The first 12 minutes were the worst. Barnsley needed only a draw to be safe but fell a goal behind thanks to a header by Gary Sawyer.
How quickly did the mood lift?
Amazingly quickly. Within a minute or so of Sawyer scoring, word spread around the ground that Norwich were losing to Charlton. What a relief that was.
And it got better and better after that?
Too right. Adam Hammill scored the equaliser and, by half-time, Norwich were losing 3-1 at The Valley. You could say the party started at half-time in the stands.
So does survival get Simon Davey off the hook. Some fans want him out, don't they?
Don't think so. At one stage, the fans were singing "We are staying up, we want Davey out!". Doesn't exactly sound like a vote of confidence.
How did everyone celebrate at the final whistle?
The players and the manager came down to the away end and most threw their shirts into the crowd. Daniel Bogdanovic stripped down to his underpants. The police and stewards made sure
no one got onto the pitch. Once our celebrations were over, Plymouth came back onto the pitch and thanked
their fans. By that time, most Barnsley supporters were on their way out of the ground to party some more.
What are expectations for next season?
Let's hope for better. Since winning promotion three years ago, this club has had to scrap for Championship survival every season. Getting to the FA Cup semi-final was great last season but we need to be in the top half of the division pushing for the play-offs next season.
Does the chairman share that view?
Patrick Cryne, the club's owner, has been a firm supporter of Davey since his appointment and I guess we will find out in the next few days whether he still has enough faith in his young manager to take the job forward. Nothing will change in the next 48 hours because it is the Player of the Year dinner on Tuesday night and that has to be a celebration of achievement.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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