Barnsley FC 1 Stoke 1: Late twist breaks Reds hearts after Quina brilliance

MISSIVES to the EFL about 'competitive disadvantages', legalese and discourse regarding profitability and sustainability rules are something that Poya Asbaghi will leave to others.

The Barnsley head coach is wise in that regard. He has enough on his plate to concern himself with on the pitch.

Other matters are well above his head following news the club's chief executive Khaled El-Ahmad reportedly wrote to the league's governing body to stress that the Reds could be forced to take legal action if they are relegated from the Championship at the expense of relegation rivals Reading.

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Engineering an instant response to Saturday's miserable result and performance at Derby was all that mattered. If Barnsley are to stay up, home form is likely to have more to do with it than courtrooms.

Domingos Quina celebrates his opener for Barnsley against Stoke. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.Domingos Quina celebrates his opener for Barnsley against Stoke. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.
Domingos Quina celebrates his opener for Barnsley against Stoke. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.

A third successive Oakwell win was tantalisingly within their grasp after Domingos Quina followed up his fabulous strike versus QPR with another stunner.

Unfortunately, a match which will not live long in the memory had another vintage moment in the fifth minute of a lengthy period of stoppage time due to the game being delayed in the second half due to an incident in the Pontefract Road end.

Barnsley, who dropped exceedingly deep in their bid to hold onto their precious gain, could not clear their lines and wilted and former Leeds United and Middlesbrough loanee Lewis Baker broke home hearts with a majestic curler every bit as good as Quina's strike.

Cruel, most cruel.

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Should Barnsley stay up, they are going to do it not by registering a surfeit of goals, given their meagre total, but digging out wins and/or requiring something special. They also have to see out games, however long it lasts. That is harder when you do not have too much experience.

Both managers spoke of a lack of energy and inability to move the ball quickly from their respective sides on Saturday, with Michael O’Neill particularly speedy in his changes with five in all, with Jacob Brown among those promoted against his former club.

Callum Styles switched to central midfield for Barnsley, mindful that home form - seven of their last 12 games at Oakwell - is likely to decide their fate, especially with Peterborough and Reading among those to come.

Stoke’s squad strength is the envy of many in the division, but something has clearly gone significantly wrong of late given their modest position - individual names are one thing, a good team is another.

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O’Neill came into the game under more scrutiny than Asbaghi, despite the fact that Barnsley were second-from-bottom.

Despite Baker's late, late strike, he will still be feeling hot under the collar. Chants of 'Sacked in the morning' and 'This is embarassing' were aired before Baker saved the day.

The template for Barnsley was their high-octane first-half display last time out against Middlesbrough on home soil, but they could not follow it.

Booed off at the weekend, Stoke upped their intensity levels. They had a potent outlet down the left in ex-Hull player Josh Tymon and Baker showed aplomb in midfield.

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Baker went as close as anyone to a breakthrough with his beautifully-struck smacking the base of the post after slack play at the back from the hosts.

A close shave also arrived when a slick raid ended in Tymon’s deflected cross-shot fizzing just off target, while Taylor-Harwood Bellis and Phil Jagielka had opportunities to do better with headers following corners.

Barnsley’s best moment saw Callum Brittain’s snapshot held by Jack Bonham. Barnsley needed to do more on the restart.

Stoke’s own stalwarts in the away end also clearly wanted more, with a cry of ‘Attack, attack’ going up in the second half and being illustrative of their current mood.

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A scare saw Brad Collins parry Brown’s low cross, but no-one in Stoke green was stationed to gobble up the rebound.

Formerly of this parish, Brown seized upon a Brittain error before powering forward and unleashing a venomous strike which whistled just over as Barnsley waited for something to drop at the other end.

More in hope than conviction in truth, yet the game was still in the melting pot and the Reds did show a touch more bite - prior to some brilliance from Quina, who ignored a simple pass to score a goal which was by no means simple.

Josh Maja hit the post and fired an opportunity wide before Baker took a leaf out of the book of Quina, furious when he was not awarded a late penalty after nutmegging Harwood-Bellis and going down.

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It remains to be seen how big and brutal a moment Baker's strike proves in Barnsley's survival campaign. It will left them feeling sore for a few days.

Barnsley: Collins; Helik, Andersen, Kitching; Brittain, Styles (Wolfe 83), Gomes, Vita; Quina, Bassi; (Cole 89); Morris. Substitutes unused: Walton, Benson, Moon, Palmer, Oduor.

Stoke City: Bonham; Harwood-Bellis, Jagielka, Chester; Duhaney (Philogene-Bidace.73), Allen, Baker, Thompson (Fletcher 77), Tymon; Brown (Campbell 73), Maja. Substitutes unused: Bursik, Vrancic, Wilmot, Sawyers,

Referee: L Doughty (Lancashire).

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