Relegation form is a worry for boss Hill

From relative mid-table safety at the turn of the year, the Tykes have stumbled due to player sales and injuries.

A tight and scrappy game at Oakwell against promotion-chasing Cardiff was settled by a moment of rare quality in the second half when Andrew Taylor’s delightful cross was coolly guided home by the head of Liam Lawrence.

The defeat means that Barnsley have won just one of their last 12 games.

Indeed, the Tykes have slipped alarmingly down the table and are not yet assured of their safety, seven points above the drop zone, with three games left to play.

“I would have settled for a point and I thought it was marginal that they won the game,” Hill said. “We nullified them and we didn’t look too threatening ourselves, which has been a problem.

“There is a reason why we were bookies’ favourites to get relegated, it’s always been obvious to me. Since the turn of the year our form has been relegation but we have to find a solution to get the points we need. Although we might already have enough. I dont want to maintain our Championship status in the manner we are doing, but we may have enough.”

Cardiff manager Malky Mackay feels his side are hitting their straps at the right time.

Victory stretched their unbeaten run to seven games and keeps them two points off seventh-placed Middlesbrough.

“We’re unbeaten in seven and have one defeat in 10, which I am very pleased about. It’s nice to have a little bit of momentum going into the last three games,” Mackay said. “You can only look at the evidence and on the basis of the stats we have to be pleased.

“Every team needs as many points as they can get.”

Barnsley: Button, Wiseman, Foster, Collins, McNulty, O’Brien, Doyle, Perkins, Tonge (Gray 75), Nouble (Davies 75), Noble-Lazarus (Cotterill 59). Unused substitutes: Dawson, Higginbotham.

Cardiff: Marshall, McNaughton, Hudson, Turner, Taylor, Mason (Earnshaw 86), Whittingham, Lawrence, Gunnarsson (Blake 82), Cowie (McPhail 55), Miller. Unused substitutes: Heaton, Harris.

Referee: Geoff Eltringham (Tyne & Wear).

Man of the Match: Liam Lawrence.