Barnsley 2 Preston 0: Home form remains in good shape as Tykes ease to win

Preston suffered their first defeat under Phil Brown as Garry O’Connor and Danny Hayes gave Barnsley a deserved win.

Scotland international O’Connor’s fourth goal of the season came with more than a touch of fortune after his 23rd- minute shot deflected wickedly off North End defender Leon Cort and beyond Andy Lonergan.

Lonergan came to his side’s rescue on a number of occasions, but his botched clearance in injury time allowed Barnsley substitute Jacob Butterfield to break clear and leave Hayes with a tap in.

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Preston rarely threatened Tykes goalkeeper Luke Steele’ as on-loan Chelsea youngster Jacob Mellis dictated proceedings impressively on his debut. Steele’s best moment came two minutes from time when he dived full-length to palm away a free-kick from Keith Treacy.

Mark Robins’s side have now lost just once in their past seven home games, while Preston are seven points from safety at the foot of the table.

Preston debutant Leon Clarke should have opened the scoring in the ninth minute, but his back-post touch from Billy Jones’s in-swinging corner fell wide.

Barnsley’s first chance came in the 16th minute when England Under-19 international Mellis was given space to unleash a 25-yard drive that Lonergan could only parry with Cort hacking clear from his own goalmouth.

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O’Connor then got the better of Cort in the cruellest circumstances to give his side the lead after a surging run from on-loan Manchester City full-back Kieran Tripper had set up the Barnsley attack.

Steele saw his first action of the half 10 minutes before the interval when he saved well from Iain Hume’s stinging 25-yarder.

A sweeping cross-field ball from the impressive Mellis instigated a Barnsley counter-attack in the 42nd minute, which resulted in Hayes being denied first by a last-ditch Conor McLaughlin block then a stunning Lonergan save.

Barnsley could have made it two when Tripper’s 64th-minute free-kick found Diego Arismendi unmarked, only for the ball to bounce harmlessly off the Uruguayan into Lonergan’s arms.

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Clarke and Mellis were experiencing contrasting debuts – something underlined when the striker scythed through the back of his opponent, becoming the fourth Preston player to see Russell Booth’s yellow card.

Lonergan was thenforced to a trio of fine stops from Hayes, Nouble and Mellis in a frantic finish. Then came Steele’s finest moment from Treacy’s set piece, before Hayes sealed the points.

Barnsley: Steele, Trippier, Hassell, Shackell, Hill, Haynes, Doyle, Arismendi, Mellis (Butterfield 80), O’Connor (O’Brien 68), Nouble. Unused substitutes: Preece, Lovre, Colace, Noble-Lazarus, Gray.

Preston North End: Lonergan, McLaughlin, Morgan (Treacy 60), St Ledger, Cort, Jones, Ashbee, Nicholson (Barton 60), Hume, Ellington, Clarke (Mayor 76). Unused substitutes: Arestidou, Wayne Brown, Hayes, Parry.

Referee: Russell Booth (Nottinghamshire).