Barnsley now need to toughen up after taking their punishment in Sheffield United loss

For 55 minutes, it was a plodding game at Bramall Lane.

“It was flat,” said Blades manager Paul Heckingbottom, though he was unsure it was the best choice of word. It was. It was 12.30pm kick-off flat.

The flatness suited Barnsley. Heckingbottom’s team is best when energetic and high-tempo, a difficult ask in the final match before a 63-day 16-game slog made way for a much-needed international break.

The gentler pace allowed Amine Bassi to pick passes as he dropped deep. Straightish 20- or 30-yard balls down the middle were hard to handle but Matty Wolfe missed two good chances and Wes Foderingham made a low save from Domingos Quina.

Then, for a second, the Reds switched off. Oliver Norwood took one of the quick free-kicks Asbaghi warned about and when Conor Hourihane crossed, the only person marking Sander Berge at the far post was his team-mate, Kyron Gordon.

And that was game over.

With 35 minutes left, it should not have been, but Asbaghi’s men were not mentally tough enough to withstand it. They have never won conceding first in 23 matches under the naturalised Swede.

“The Championship is a tough league to be 1-0 down because teams are good at not taking risks, defend well and kill time,” he argued. “You don’t see this ability everywhere in Europe.”

The Blades are generally pretty steely, certainly at Bramall Lane where they are unbeaten with the man from Barnsley as manager.

They dominated the rest of the game, none more so than Morgan Gibbs-White, who having seen Ben Osborn curl wide from his pass and Brad Collins tip over his header, collected Oli McBurnie’s ball, took it very wide around the goalkeeper, threatened to lose his footing but found the net.

“Sometimes you play really badly and they score after 55 minutes and you have to change,” reflected Asbaghi. “Sometimes you play really well and you don’t have to change anything. Maybe our players forgot that for a minute. Us changing our attitude invited them to make it 2-0.”

Plenty has gone wrong since Heckingbottom took over a side in 17th and dragged them up to fifth, just like for every Championship side. Playing intense football through such a packed schedule cannot come without fatigue or injuries, season-enders for the talismanic David McGoldrick, the in-form Jayden Bogle and the finally-up-and-running Rhian Brewster adding to a list too often in double figures.

Bad results – none more so than the previous week’s 4-1 thumping at Coventry City – and perceived injustices – Heckingbottom was still sore about the 0-0 at Blackpool which followed – also come with the Championship territory.

And there was December, when Covid-19 became a lesser-known symptom of having a fixture against the Blades.

Excuses were not hard to find.

“A message at half-time was you can be the one waving his arms about pointing at someone else or be one who takes the bull by the horns and goes and wins the game,” said Heckingbottom.

“Winning teams have that. It’s probably as important if not more important than the things you coach.

“We managed to step away from Barnsley a little bit and we were ruthless.”

Norwood’s sharp mind and Berge’s third goal in four matches were the most decisive and Gibbs-White the most eye-catching – “Sheffield has a lot of good players but maybe he’s the most outstanding,” said Asbaghi – but McBurnie’s assist was important for him as well as the team.

When, worryingly, Billy Sharp went off with a hamstring injury, Daniel Jebbison was sent on but ex-Barnsley forward McBurnie was soon into the fray too.

The ball stuck under his feet yet the pass he dug out for Gibbs-White to convert was excellent from a talented player with one league goal since July 2020.

McBurnie declared himself fit for Bloomfield Road on Wednesday, but was overruled because, Heckingbottom said, “he would have been hobbling about.

“George (Baldock) did it on Saturday (again overruled), Flecky (John Fleck), Enda (Stevens), Oli Mac (have done it). There’s others playing out of position and a lot of boys carrying knocks.”

Barnsley must show that spirit.

Their next game is at home to Reading, who surprisingly beat Blackburn Rovers on Saturday to widen the gap between the Reds and safety to five points.

“I’m confident we have the ability to bounce back,” said Asbaghi. “We have bounced back in the table and in the season.

“We have been doomed, everybody had said we’re out but we’ve shown we’re not out.

“We have performed pretty well in our recent games and we played pretty well for 55 minutes (on Saturday).

“We won against Bristol, we drew against Fulham but we played almost better here for 55 minutes.”

Playing well is a good starting point but in the Championship playing tough is essential too.