Nottingham Forest 0 Barnsley 0: Campaign will be Barnsley against the world

BARNSLEY have not started the season with a victory since 2005 – when they won promotion to the Championship.

Although this season’s opening game at Nottingham Forest ended in a goalless draw, it was still a moral victory and a platform on which to build.

Those who have written off Barnsley this season will soon be choking on their words.

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New manager Keith Hill looks to have spent the money from the £1m sale of Jason Shackell wisely and put a side together that will not only try to play decent football but also stop the opposition.

Five of his eight summer signings started on Saturday, including defender Rob Edwards, who took the captain’s armband.

Edwards knows just how sweet a feeling it is to prove the doubters wrong – having won promotion to the Premier League with former club Blackpool two years ago.

When the Tangerines reached the top flight, it shocked the rest of English football.

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He is now vowing to lead his new club on a mission to the stars – and, of course, should they fail, they might just be touching the clouds.

“It’s going to be Barnsley against the world this season,” he told the Yorkshire Post. “We’ve been written off but we will prove people wrong.

“We know what quality we have got in the dressing room and when you look at who has been promoted in the last few seasons (Hull City, Burnley, Blackpool), you can’t write anyone off.

“We are aiming for the stars,” he added. “We will work as hard as possible and try and keep as many clean sheets as we can. It would be wrong to set targets but anything is possible.”

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Edwards admitted that a point was a good result for the Tykes against a Forest side who are looking to push for promotion again following the appointment of former England manager Steve McClaren.

“We were really looking forward to this game to see where we were at,” he said. “I think we have showed we are going to be tough to beat and, hopefully, we will play some stuff and win games as well.”

For new Barnsley manager Hill, it was a day he had been looking forward to for much of his career, his first taste of the pressure cooker environment that is management in the Championship.

He even started patrolling his technical area a full 45 minutes before the game kicked off.

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Maybe it was down to excitement or perhaps this will be his usual pre-match routine.

Whatever, it was an unusual sight to see.

Hill chatted to Forest supporters, signed autographs and caught up with messages on his mobile while assistant-manager David Flitcroft led the players through their warm-up on the field.

With the sun beaming down on the City Ground and shirt sleeves the order of the day, he had every reason to be happy. Technically speaking, his team was sitting second in the Championship table at 3pm – albeit thanks to alphabetical order.

The photographers massed at the end of the players’ tunnel showed no interest in snapping Hill prior to kick-off.

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They only wanted McClaren but the former England manager opted out of the the limelight and waited until the game kicked off before making his entrance pitchside.

McClaren showed plenty of emotion during the game but Forest supporters showed little sympathy for his frustration at the final whistle.

Unhappy with the lack of new signings at his club this summer, McClaren feels Forest will struggle to score goals with their existing attacking options. West Bromwich Albion’s Ishmael Miller is high on his wanted list.

Although Forest had long spells of pressure, they rarely pushed Barnsley goalkeeper Luke Steele to the limit.

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The best opportunity of the game fell to Lewis McGugan when Steele pushed a cross straight into his path but the Forest striker volleyed wide.

Barnsley made a confident start and often showed bravery on the ball. They should have gone ahead when Craig Davies was picked out by Jacob Butterfield at a free-kick but the Welsh international striker headed wide.

By the half-hour mark, Forest were firmly into the game with summer signings Andy Reid and Jonathan Greening pulling the strings in midfield.

Barnsley conceded a number of free-kicks around their own penalty area but Forest failed to use them effectively.

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Miles Addison showed his strengths in the midfield holding role for Barnsley and that allowed the attacking enthusiasm of fellow midfielders Butterfield and David Perkins to prosper.

Forest enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession but, even at times of intense pressure, Barnsley’s defence held firm.

Hill’s tactics had worked a treat and the point Barnsley probably came for had been achieved. “The game plan was to win,” insisted Hill. “ It always is. But we set our side up to not concede and we didn’t concede and I thought we created opportunities and had opportunities to nick one.”

Hill took offence when one journalist asked whether his side had been lucky. “It’s ridiculous some of the criticism or hyper-criticism,” he said.

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“There is none for my players. They were outstanding to a man. I am over the moon with my players’ performance, the team performance, the squad performance.

“It’s just a game of football but all the pressures that come with football are created by the media,” he claimed.

Now, now Keith. That is a bit harsh. Surely, chairmen, directors and the fans have something to do with it, too.

Welcome to the world of the Championship.