Barnsley 0 Southampton 1: Hill is left feeling all alone as his Barnsley troops fail to turn up

Southampton extended their club record run of consecutive league victories to eight with an impressive performance at Oakwell, the first time they have won their opening two league games for 23 years.

Veteran striker David Connolly’s close-range header on the half-hour mark was enough to secure victory for Nigel Adkins’s men, who survived a late Barnsley rally after substitute Richard Chaplow was sent off on 84 minutes for a rash challenge on Jay McEveley.

“In the last five minutes players give everything, but it means nothing, it should have been produced in the first five minutes,” said Hill.

“I won’t do this job if I can’t be positive. We should expect to compete with Southampton but we didn’t do that, we conceded too much ground to them.

“It wasn’t very good, it was not a reflection of Keith Hill and it was not a reflection of what I’ve witnessed in the last few weeks. We didn’t turn up and I am bitterly disappointed. For the first time in five years I felt alone on the touchline.”

Scott Wiseman, Nathan Doyle and David Perkins all returned to the Barnsley starting line-up after being rested for the Carling Cup in midweek.

Goalkeeper Kelvin Davis, captain Dean Hammond, fellow midfielders Adam Lallana and Jack Cork, and striker Connolly returned to Southampton’s side, having also been rested during the week.

Southampton began the brighter of the two sides. Barnsley struggled to get into any sort of rhythm, much to the home fans frustration as lone striker Craig Davies found himself isolated for the majority of the first half.

Much of the Saints’ good work came through Lallana, who should have opened the scoring midway through the first half, but his delayed shot was well blocked by Jimmy McNulty.

The visitors took the lead on the half-hour mark, Connolly taking advantage of poor defending and hesitant goalkeeping from David Preece to head home from close-range, his second of the season.

Connolly almost doubled his side’s lead minutes later, but could only drag his effort wide of Preece’s post.

Hill shuffled his side at the interval, moving Danny Haynes to partner Davies in attack. The switch paid almost immediate dividends, but the former Ipswich striker’s tame effort was easily saved by goalkeeper Davis.

The change in tactics failed to make any significant difference, however, as Southampton dazzled with their swift passing and moving.

Barnsley: Preece, Wiseman, Edwards, McNulty, McEveley, Butterfield (Noble-Lazarus 68), Addison, Doyle (Vaz Te 74), Perkins,Haynes,Davies. Unused substitutes: Lidakevicius, Hassell, O’Brien.

Southampton: Davis, Richardson, Fonte, Hammond, Harding, Seaborne, Do Prado (Chaplow 70), Cork, Lallana (Schneiderlin 87), Lambert, Connolly (De Ridder 82). Unused substitutes: Bialkowski, Martin. Sent Off: Chaplow (84).

Referee: C Webster (Tyne & Wear).

Man of the match: David Connolly.