Code breakers: How Barnsley have to find ways through defence-minded visitors

For the fourth successive time on home soil, the Reds had to settle for a point after being frustrated by a risk-averse Cardiff side in a 0-0 draw.

All told, Barnsley have now failed to triumph in their past seven matches at Oakwell, with only the bottom two of Rotherham United and Wigan Athletic having won fewer Championship home games.

While elements of the Reds’ attacking play continue to impress, their tally of six wins in 21 games and more especially nine draws is proving a bugbear, with striker Bradshaw admitting that the latest stalemate was ‘incredibly frustrating.’

In many ways, the Reds have been the victims of their own success, with dominant early-season home wins having marked the cards of many visiting sides since.

But somehow Barnsley - now without a victory in eight matches - must find a way to combat the safety-first tactics from many ‘scared’ opponents, according to Bradshaw.

He said: “It shows how far we have come that teams are willing to come here and accept the point.

“Teams are almost scared of us because we are so good on the counter and teams come here to try and get a point, which in a way is a big compliment.

“That is where we have got to improve - to break teams down that are happy to take the point.

“It is positive that we are playing well and we want to pass the ball and don’t want to become a team who just hump the ball forward and be direct. But you have to score goals to win games.”