Barnsley 2 Crystal Palace 1: Barnsley’s Vaz Te is quick off mark at Oakwell

Improbable because the Reds have one of the lowest budgets in the Championship, yet what they lack for in cash they make up for in endeavour, determination and a considerable amount of talent.

They also have in Keith Hill a man with an eye for talent.

Craig Davies, a League Two recruit by the manager, went into the game with six goals in his last six games but it was Vaz Te – the former Portuguese Under-21 picked up after being discarded by Hibernian in the summer – who stole the limelight and sent Barnsley up to eighth.

He embodied the spirit in the camp with a rasping drive after just nine seconds – in what is believed to be the fastest goals in Oakwell’s history – and then pounced to defy a resilient Crystal Palace with the winner 12 minutes from time.

Jermaine Easter restored parity for Palace in an enthralling first half, and although they threatened regularly on the break, Barnsley had the guile to break them down and move to within two points of the play-offs.

They are also well over halfway to the 50-point mark Hill will have identified as his primary target upon succeeding Mark Robins in the summer.

Barnsley may be a small fish in a pond that gets larger each year but their fans only have to look at what Burnley and Blackpool achieved in recent years in defying the odds and winning promotion to the Premier League.

They certainly signalled their intent on joining the play-off shake-up with this adventurous performance.

And in an illustration of the belief coursing through their veins after victories over Doncaster, Leeds and Peterborough they took the lead after only nine seconds.

Straight from the kick-off, Jacob Butterfield’s clipped ball to the left wing was collected by Vaz Te who ran at Nathaniel Clyne, cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable drive from 20 yards that rocketed into the roof of the net via the outstretched palm of Julian Speroni.

From such a high Barnsley almost gifted Palace an equaliser when Danny Drinkwater’s attempted hoof from midfield spun off in the wrong direction and over his central defenders.

Palace striker Easter raced after it but a combination of Luke Steele and Stephen Foster snuffed out the self-inflicted danger.

Davies then shrugged off Anthony Gardner on the edge of the area only to loft his effort high and wide when he perhaps had more time to advance on Speroni.

It was the lively Nile Ranger who spurned Barnsley’s best chance to double the lead on 27 minutes.

Vaz Te’s first time through ball should have been bread and butter for Palace defender Dekel Keinen but the Newcastle loanee muscled him off the ball.

The hard work was done and all Ranger had to do was keep his head and slot the ball past Speroni but he forced his effort wide.

And they were nearly punished straight away when Steele made a hash of Darren Ambrose’s outswinging free-kick, the Barnsley goalkeeper grateful to Drinkwater who dropped back to head Glenn Murray’s resulting header off the line.

But there was no Drinkwater on hand for Palace’s equaliser on 32 minutes.

Again it was Barnsley’s own doing that created the chance, Foster with a weak header back to goal which allowed Easter to nip in and lob the ball over the onrushing Steele.

The equaliser spurred Palace on and Easter nearly had a second when his hooked volley drifted just wide after yet more hesitancy in the Reds’ rearguard.

A first-time drive from Davies kept Speroni busy but it was now Palace making the running and a slick move involving Easter and Murray set up Ambrose but he could not replicate his Old Trafford heroics of six nights earlier as he drove the ball over.

Both sides continued with the attacking intent in the second half, a turn and shot from Davies forcing a save from Speroni and Murray scuffing a shot wide for Palace.

Steele then had to be sharp to beat out Ambrose’s free-kick.

The running into channels of Vaz Te and Davies forced a handful of corners that Barnsley, frustratingly, did little with.

They were leaving gaps at the back that Palace’s pacey runners threatened to exploit, but still they poured forward and a deserved winner arrived on 78 minutes when Butterfield’s long-range effort was parried by Speroni only as far as Vaz Te, who took a touch and calmly slotted the ball home for his sixth goal of the season.

Barnsley: Steele; Hassell, Foster, McNulty, Perkins; Drinkwater (Wiseman 46), Butterfield (Addison 82), O’Brien, Vaz Te; Davies, Ranger (Haynes 58). Unused substitutes: Preece, Done.

Crystal Palace: Speroni; Clyne, Gardner, Keinen (McCarthy 46), Ramage; Wright, Zaha, Ambrose, Dikgacoi, Murray (Iversen 79); Easter (Martin 58). Unused substitutes: Price, Jedinak.

Referee: T Bates (Staffordshire).