Barnsley 0 Southend 2: Penalty miss is key as Reds' home rule ends

BARNSLEY caretaker coach Paul Heckingbottom remained in positive mood after his side dropped out of the play-off spots to eighth.

They lost at home for the first time in 2016 after six successive League One victories at Oakwell.

The Shrimpers won for the first time in four matches as Jack Payne turned a defender before finishing in the left-hand corner after just five minutes, though the Reds claimed Marc Roberts had been fouled and prevented from making a challenge in the build-up.

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Conor Hourihane should have equalised, but sent his penalty wide in the first half after goalkeeper Daniel Bentley had fouled Ashley Fletcher.

Then, deep in stoppage-time, Michael Timlin wrapped up the win with a 25-yard strike.

“It wasn’t a disappointing display, it was a disappointing result.” claimed Heckingbottom.

“We started sluggish and the first 15-20 minutes they started the brighter, which is what we wanted to do. But they did that and got the goal, which was fully deserved.

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“That kicked us into gear, but the missed penalty was a blow for us. We definitely performed better in the second half, and if we had got a goal at any point we would have looked more likely to win the game.

“Credit to Southend, they’ve come here and done a real good job with a good game plan. They started bright and managed to control the game, dominate the referee and quieten our fans down so they’ll be really pleased. We’ll take things from this and move forward.”

Barnsley: Davies, George Williams (Smith 79), Roberts, Mawson, Connolly, Chapman (Winnall 56), Brownhill, Hourihane, Hammill, Fletcher (Tuton 87), Watkins. Unused substitutes: Nyatanga, Scowen, Townsend, Khan.

Southend: Bentley, White, Thompson, Barrett, Coker, Deegan, Payne, Wordsworth (McLaughlin 69), Hurst (Atkinson 83), Kamara (Timlin 87), Barnett. Unused substitutes: Ted Smith, McQueen, Loza, O’Neill.

Referee: B Malone (Wiltshire).

Man of the match: Adam Barrett.