Barnsley prove they ‘can compete at any level in the Championship’ after Oakwell stalemate

In the circumstances he found himself in last night on his return to British football he would have been delighted to see Cardiff City fight back from that deficit to take a 2-2 draw from a very McCarthyist match.

There were mixed feelings for his opposite number Valerien Ismael too – disappointment at the draw, but pride at how his team have learned to come out of the sort of arm wrestle Cardiff belatedly engaged them in, fury at the refereeing mistake that led to the visitors’ first goal, but more concerned about the self-made error that led to the second.

“On one side there’s pride at the development of the team, we can compete at any level in the Championship, which is a great feeling, but the other side is to be more clinical,” he said.

“If you see the development of the guys from the first game against Cardiff (November’s 3-0 defeat) to tonight it’s clear to see we are on the right way.”

McCarthy needs no encouragement to sing the praises of his home town and its football team, and was glowing about the Reds’ determination, as well as his own side’s.

“This is a good prize for the guys to hear that,” said Ismael, like McCarthy once a centre-half happy to get stuck in, now a manager unafraid to go direct.

This was less a game, more a battle of long balls, long throws, second balls, percentages, neck-ache for the few in the stands and headaches for those on the pitch.

During the warm-up Barnsley wore T-shirts wishing Cardiff’s Sol Bamba all the best in his fight against non-Hodgkin lymphonia then packed them away and got down to business.

Once Mads Andersen scored his first goal for the club, Barnsley looked on course for their maiden Championship win of the year, but instead they had to settle for a first point, and Ismael’s first draw as manager.

After eight minutes they hoisted a ball into the penalty area and saw it bundled into the net off Aden Flint’s head.

In a game that was not for the faint-hearted, Andy Woolmer’s decision was, Woodrow penalised for fouling former Huddersfield Town goalkeeper Alex Smithies. The referee had a difficult night, but certainly not a good one.

Ismael clapped his approval of his team from the touchline and Barnsley continued in the same uncompromising vein.

Callum Brittain’s crossing sprinkled out-of-place quality on the arm-wrestle so when Dominik Frieser lined up a long throw in the 20th minute he decided to go short to Brittain instead. When the wing-back returned it, Frieser produced a wonderful cross and Andersen a header which was its equal, thumping into the back corner of the net.

When Woodrow doubled Barnsley’s lead with a 53rd-minute header from Mowatt’s deep free-kick, the pattern looked set. “We scored from set-pieces and had other situations to score so I’m very delighted with that against such an opponent,” said Ismael. “It’s another way to play football for us.”

Kieffer Moore had been working off starvation rations against his old club until then but after 69 minutes he scored his inevitable equaliser.

Sheyi Oji had scored at a 59th-minute corner the hosts were incensed by.

“The turning point was the mistake was the referee,” said Ismael. “If you give Cardiff set-pieces it’s like a penalty for this team. We lost control of the game.”

That said, his side had the chance to clear it and did not, Josh Murphy playing the ball back in for Oji to equalise.

Collins saved from Moore’s header a minute later but Barnsley failed to take the hint, leaving him unmarked at the far post. It was another set-piece Ismael thought Cardiff should not have had, but for different reasons.

“The communication between Brad Collins (Barnsley’s “cup goalkeeper”, who kept his place in an unchanged side) and Callum Styles had to be better,” he said.

Asked about the improvement since November, he replied: “Mindset, mentality and more adult. We learn quickly about all the situations we face in the Championship.”

McCarthy added: “I’m delighted with the point today. We can all learn a little bit from a committed and determined Barnsley.

“The way we came back and responded, I’d say we fought fire with fire.”

This was an important examination and Barnsley reached the pass mark, just not honours.

Barnsley:Collins; Sibbick (Solbauer 79), Helik, Andersen; Brittain, Mowatt, Palmer, Styles; Frieser (Morris 59),Woodrow, Adeboyejo.Unused substitutes: Walton, Williams, Kane, Chaplin, Schmidt, Oduor, Omar.

Cardiff City: Smithies; Ng, Flint, Nelson, Bagan; Vaulks; Ojo (Pack 90), Bacuna (Morrison 59), Ralls, Hoillet (Murphy 50); Moore. Unused substitutes: Phillips, Glatzel, Wilson, Sang, Harris, Davies.

Referee: A Woolmer (Northamptonshire).

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.