Barnsley 3 Middlesbrough 2: O’Grady gives Reds lift-off as the pressure builds on Mowbray

But one was left with an over-riding amount of sympathy for visiting Boro manager Tony Mowbray as he, too, prepares for another derby on Friday evening.

“Sacked in the morning, you’re getting sacked in the morning,” is a common enough chant at grounds but rarely do you hear it coming from fans against their own manager.

That is what Mowbray had to endure a week shy of his third anniversary in charge of the Boro as he walked past their 2,221 following at half-time.

But what can a manager do when his central striker has squandered three gilt-edged chances in that opening spell and when his defenders have failed to heed numerous pre-match warnings of the threat posed by Paddy McCourt, who played under Mowbray at Celtic?

At least his changes – and he defended his reasoning behind initialy leaving match-turners Marvin Emnes and Mustapha Carayol on the bench – ensured the Boro produced a storming late finish, with the latter striking the bar before Albert Adomah struck twice in two minutes.

It would not have been Barnsley had they not turned a cruise into a crisis and midfield driving force David Perkins said: “It was brilliant to score three goals before half-time and although we hung on in the end we are delighted with the three points.

“The margins between winning and losing are very fine, they had chances, too, and could have been 1-0 up but we are off the bottom now. The spirit is good – it has always been good – the boys have stuck together and worked hard during the international break and our game plan worked.”

Perkins admitted: “We needed to win because a defeat could have left us five points adrift and then people start talking about the sack for the manager so it’s a big relief for the players because everyone is behind Flicker (manager David Flitcroft) and all the staff. The boys dug in and it was a relief.”

McCourt had weaved between a trio of Boro defenders to prod Barnsley into the lead before Chris O’Grady claimed a double to make it 3-0, although he knew litle about the first, deflecting home Jim O’Brien’s shot from outside the area after the winger had been brought on to replace Northern Ireland international McCourt, who had been sick on the pitch.

O’Grady’s second was from the penalty spot after returning striker Marcus Pedersen was tripped from behind by young Ben Gibson, continuing in defence following another breakdown in training by Jonathan Woodgate.

O’Grady’s double has set him up nicely for Saturday’s lunchtime Oakwel encounter against former club Shefield Wednesday, who are now below the Reds and still without a win.

Perkins continued: “Chris is claiming the first because Jim’s shot was going to hit the corner flag. He has got seven goals now and that’s fantastic for him and sets him up well for next week. He doesn’t feel he has anything to prove, because he did well at Wednesday and was unlucky to be left out of their squad.

“We are just concentrating on what he does for our team and since he has been here, he’s been fantastic.

“It’s a big game next against Wednesday but there are not many small games in the Championship, to be fair.”

Although the Boro showed plenty of spirit after being deflated by Lukas Jutkiewicz’s inability to find the net, Gambian winger Mustapha Carayol believes luck has deserted them, underlined by his curling strike from outside the area which rattled the bar.

But it was poor finishing rather than ill luck which had seen Jutkiewicz first blaze over with only Jack Butland to beat, then head straight at the goalkeeper from close range – each time the Reds making Boro pay with a goal within a minute of the miss – before heading wide just before the break.

Eight minutes from the end, Adomah showed him how it should be done by hooking the ball home before scoring his second with a stooping header from four yards two minutes later.

Carayol, described as both a Georgie Best and an inconsistent performer by his manager, was adamant, however: “I’ve come to this club and questioned the luck around the place. Stuff seems to happen to us – deflected goals and things like that.”

Ahead of Friday’s visit of Doncaster Rovers, he addressed the issue of the disgruntled fans, saying: “The message from us is that we understand their frustration. As football players we have to deliver performances for them to cheer about.

“I hope they get behind us on Friday and we can put on a show for them like we did against Yeovil. It’s always nice to play on the TV – that will give us an extra buzz.

“The next game is the one you always look to. We need to try and forget this game as soon as possible.”

Manager Mowbray, who also questioned Emnes’s lack of consistency, is aware of the side’s defensive deficiencies and intends to talk to owner Steve Gibson, who watched from the directors’ box, about the posibility of loan signings.

Of his own position, he said: “Who is not under pressure? Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) lost his first game of the season and was under presure, David Moyes (Manchester United) is under pressure, everyone is under pressure, it’s football.

“We live in a world of social media where everyone has an opinion, everyone has a platform and as football managers we have to accept that and deal with it.”

Buoyant oposite number David Flicroft said: “We’ve got three points against an outstanding team. They had elite players going forward and in the second half they went for it and we stuck firm.

“I am very proud that we didn’t collapse at the final hurdle. We’ve got a plan; we know where we want to be in the league table at the end of the season.”