Barnsley FC's diamonds sparkle to secure a keynote victory

A grand total of 1,050 days earlier, the Reds beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 on August 15, 2017, with 11 subsequent league outings on home soil since failing to yield a victory.

Until this latest occasion. Timely is the phrase after this priceless 2-0 Roses win over Blackburn Rovers.

Speaking of appropriate entrances, the appearance from the bench of Conor Chaplin, Kilian Ludewig and Luke Thomas was well-timed in the extreme and proved the proverbial game-changer.

Just a minute after coming on, Chaplin - who never looked back for a golden spell after coming on and scoring in the reverse fixture at Ewood Park - was at it again for Barnsley, who sparkled after switching to a diamond.

His opener here, a neat 58th-minute header following an excellent cross from Ludewig, might well possess far more value in the context of Barnsley's season.

It provided the hosts with an energy rush on a night which was far from straightforward up to then - and on an occasion when most observers felt that Gerhard Struber's side had to win in whatever fashion they could to ramp up the pressure on sides above them, they did just that.

It was secured by a first goal at Oakwell since Good Friday 2019 for Jacob Brown, who coolly converted after being sent clear by Alex Mowatt as Barnsley did what they had to do before their headline triple header with Stoke City, Luton Town and Wigan Athletic.

The bottom line for Struber is now points, keeping the scoreboard pressure upon others and within that, the importance of momentum simply cannot be overstated.

Neither can their newly-found defensive credentials. Six clean sheets in eight matches and their own version of lockdown is something that is welcome.

Emblematic of their travails at the back in the opening third of the season, Mads Andersen - so meek in the reverse fixture - is starting to look like a different player with his decision-making and that of those around him being vastly improved these days.

So his Barnsley's collective mentality. Cajoled incessantly from the touchline, Struber's troops are showing more nerve.

As they did in repelling a fair amount of first-half pressure from Blackburn before exacting a spot of revenge following their 3-2 defeat in Struber's first outing in charge there.

Mindful of the stature of the game, Barnsley set about Blackburn from the off and their intensity and inter-play going forward was visibly up a few notches from Saturday as they endeavoured to make things happen more in an attacking sense.

For their first twenty minutes, they looked the team with the cause at the foot of the table, but could not sustain their encouraging opening, with the Lancastrians gradually getting their act together and starting to look like a side harbouring play-off designs.

It saw them push back Barnsley and find some joy down the flanks, with the stretched hosts having to field a fair amount of pressure as Rovers posted a flurry of questions -with the half-time whistle being a relieving one for the Reds.

Possessing a threat with his pace and directness, ex-Reds loanee Adam Armstrong forced Jack Walton into an alert near post save after a swift break, while Barnsley also survived a big scare when a goalbound volley from Bradley Johnson yielded an instinctive reaction save from the Reds custodian with Samuel unable to convert the loose ball.

A cross-shot from Samuel, whose contest with Ben Williams was a watchable one, then just evaded a former Barnsley loanee in Joe Rothwell, a dominant force in the middle with Lewis Holtby.

The narrative was somewhat different at the start when Barnsley - who made just one change from the weekend with Jordan Williams replacing Ludewig - possessed a nice zip and confidence about them with Cauley Woodrow testing Christian Walton with a couple of early efforts as Rovers.

A fine block from Tosin Adarabioyo to get in the way of a goalbound drive from Alex Mowatt rescued Rovers, who then took the hint and emerged from their slumber.

Barnsley did fire a riposte before the interval when Mowatt's drive warmed the gloves of the Rovers custodian, but the resumption saw Blackburn assume control once more as the hosts continued to lead a charmed life.

Fortunately, Samuel's off-beam evening continued when he fluffed a golden chance in front of goal early in the second half after Barnsley switched off from Stewart Downing's delivery and it proved a pivotal moment.

Struber provided the hosts with a badly-needed energy rush and Ludewig and Chaplin combined beautifully for the latter to head in his 13th goal of the campaign.

Woodrow almost added a second before Thomas fired at Christian Walton ahead of Brown settling the issue two minutes after substitute Ben Brereton saw red for a lunge on Ludewig.

Barnsley: J Walton; Sollbauer, Andersen, B Williams; J Williams (Ludewig 56), Mowatt, Palmer (Styles 37), Ritzmaier (Thomas 56); Simoes (Chaplin 56); Brown, Woodrow (Schmidt. Substitutes unused: Collins, Bahre, Oduor, Halme.

Blackburn Rovers: C Walton; Nyambe, Adarabioyo, Mulgrew, Bennett (Chapman; Johnson, Downing, Rothwell (Gallagher 67); Holtby (Davenport 67), Armstrong (Graham 67), Samuel (Brereton 67). Substitutes unused: Leutwiler, Carter, Smallwood, Vale.

Referee: T Harrington (Cleveland).

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