Hull City 0 Barnsley 1: Reds’ Cup delight is dampened by scrap to stay up

As David Flitcroft’s players celebrated with their delighted supporters after Chris Dagnall’s 70th-minute strike had edged an all-Yorkshire tie, the giant screen at the KC Stadium brought the bad news.

Not only had Sheffield Wednesday taken three points from their trip to Charlton Athletic but Birmingham City had done the same against in-form Burnley.

As if that was not bad enough, bottom club Bristol City had also ended a four-game losing run by beating Ipswich Town.

The trio of results meant the survival hopes of Barnsley had suffered a setback with the gap between Flitcroft’s men and safety having been stretched to seven points.

With 54 points still to play for, such a margin is far from insurmountable but, as goal-scoring hero Dagnall admits, victories for two of the club’s main relegation rivals on Saturday has put extra pressure on the Reds ahead of tomorrow’s home encounter with Millwall.

He said: “We are four games unbeaten now and beating Hull was a big result for us. Because of the unbeaten run, we just can’t wait for the next game to come round.

“We have changed formation (to 3-5-2) and it is doing the trick. The back three have been unbelievable.

“Results like the one against Hull can only help. But we need to push on now. It was just a shame the results went against us in the league. It brings that bit of extra pressure on Tuesday night as we need to win.

“But we take it on the chin and we’ll try to get those three points to narrow the gap again.”

Barnsley’s recent upturn in form, which followed an awful run that yielded just one win from 15 outings, means they will, indeed, go into tomorrow’s game at Oakwell on a high.

The same goes for Dagnall, who before netting twice against Leeds United on January 12 had gone 18 games without getting on the scoresheet.

That barren run followed the 26-year-old being loaned to League Two Bradford City last season after finding the step up to the Championship a difficult one.

Dagnall added: “On a personal level, it is a big turnaround and my confidence is shooting up. I went a long time without scoring, but I am made up now.”

Barnsley’s winner at the KC was a reward for their perseverance with Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic having twice performed heroics to keep out Jim O’Brien and Scott Golbourne in the space of a few seconds before Dagnall swooped to score from close range.

It was enough to settle a contest that Hull had dominated during the first half only to lose their way after the break.

Manager Steve Bruce was at a loss to explain just why his side’s second-half efforts had been so insipid compared to an opening 45 minutes in which they had made all the running.

That Hull did not have at least one goal to show for that dominance at the interval was down to profligacy among the home ranks with Seyi Olofinjana wasting the best chance when he headed wide from six yards after being picked out by Robbie Brady.

The £2m signing from Manchester United also went close with a curled free-kick that almost crept in as Barnsley goalkeeper Luke Steele seemed to be left in two minds by Paul McShane’s presence inside the six-yard box.

David Meyler was another guilty of letting the Reds off the hook when Hull were on top by twice failing to pick out a team-mate when an accurate pass would have played Liam Rosenior and then Nick Proschwitz through on goal.

In contrast to the hosts, Barnsley offered little in attack during those opening 45 minutes.

They made up for that, however, just after the midway point of the second half when O’Brien exchanged passes with Dagnall before hitting a shot that Jakupovic beat away.

Golbourne then claimed the rebound only to again be denied by the Hull goalkeeper, who could then only look on in frustration as the wing-back’s second effort on goal was diverted into the path of Dagnall, who made no mistake from five yards out.

Hull, missing Corry Evans due to his partner going into labour over the weekend, had no reply, the best the home side could manage being a glancing header by Proschwitz that Steele saved comfortably to leave manager Bruce hoping for a lift from the final few days of the transfer window.

Long-time target DJ Campbell, however, is unlikely to provide that fillip with the QPR striker keen to stay in London amid interest from Crystal Palace.

On the hunt for new faces, Bruce said: “We will have to see what develops, but it is proving to be a very difficult transfer window at the moment.

“There are a lot of names being bandied around, but we are honestly not close to anything right now.

“One thing is the money being demanded and the other thing is the availability.

“Unless a club is in financial meltdown, clubs aren’t really wanting to let go centre-forwards who are capable of making a difference.”

One player Bruce is keen to bring back to the KC is Ahmed Elmohamady, who was recalled from his loan spell by parent club Sunderland earlier this month.

The loss of the Egyptian’s attacking threat down the right is being keenly felt.

Bruce, who yesterday took his squad away to Portugal for four days of warm weather training, added: “Obviously the loss of key players like (Sone) Aluko (to injury) and Elmohamady has taken a bit of an edge off us and the way we play, but you have to get on with it.”

Hull City: Jakupovic; Chester, McShane, Bruce (Stewart 72); Rosenior, Meyler, Olofinjana (Simpson 60), Quinn, Brady; Koren, Proschwitz. Unused substitutes: Cracknell, Dawson, Hobbs, Cairney, Faye.

Barnsley: Steele; Cranie, Hassell, Kennedy; Wiseman (Stones 65), Etuhu, Perkins, Mellis (O’Brien 58), Golbourne; Dagnall (Foster 76), Harewood. Unused substitutes: Alnwick, Noble-Lazarus, Rose, Oates.

Referee: K Stroud (Hampshire).