Barnsley vs Derby County. Sky Bet Championship.
Oakwell StadiumAttendance13,973.
Saturday 9 December 2017 20:48, UK
Derby sealed a comfortable 3-0 win away at Barnsley as goals from Tom Lawrence, Matej Vydra and Andreas Weimann kept them in the hunt for promotion.
The majority of the opening exchanges at Oakwell were quiet and it took Derby 39 minutes to open the scoring. Weimann's cross was not dealt with and Lawrence was able to pounce on a loose ball to fire past Adam Davies.
It was not long before the Rams found themselves two goals ahead. Weimann was again the supplier as he pulled the ball back into the path of Vydra who found the net from close range after 44 minutes.
It was a deserved lead for the visitors who had done well to exploit the openings just before the break.
Derby had gone close earlier in the game, though, with Vydra's deflected effort bouncing wide after 17 minutes, before they were denied a penalty 10 minutes later when the ball appeared to strike a Barnsley hand. The Tykes did have chances of their own.
After 27 minutes Mamadou Thiam cut inside and drove an effort straight at Scott Carson before Harvey Barnes tested the former England stopper again a minute later.
It was Barnes who fashioned Barnsley's best chance of the opening half. He drove into the penalty area after 36 minutes but pulled his effort wide of the far post.
After the break the hosts enjoyed a good spell of pressure as they looked to get back into the game. On 52 minutes, Derby failed to clear their lines from a corner and then Thiam was able to work a shot from outside the area which was sent wide.
Brad Potts then went incredibly close for the Tykes. He picked up the ball on the edge of the box and then rattled the bar with a brilliant effort. Tom Bradshaw, meanwhile, saw his attempt deflect wide whilst Adam Hammill's effort also went off target.
Weimann was able to lead a break away for the Rams with just under 20 minutes remaining with Barnsley pushing for a goal. His run down the left meant he was able to find Vydra in the box who laid the ball into the path of Craig Forsyth but he planted his shot over the bar.
Barnsley went the closest they had all game with 14 minutes left but Carson was able to make an excellent sprawling save to deny Ike Ugbo.
However, it was Derby who scored as they wrapped things up on 79 minutes. Weimann let the ball sit up nicely for him before striking a clean half-volley that had Davies beaten to give the visitors a straightforward win.
Paul Heckingbottom: "I have to give Derby credit, they were clinical. We didn't take anything we made and we think we should do better with the goals. They were better than us.
"What our players are finding out is how tough this league is - we have to keep pushing and working. We just have to be consistent with them, pushing with them. When you're playing against better opposition with more quality the things you are doing wrong will be punished.
"We all know what we're playing for - we're playing for points and positions. Hopefully before January we'll have a few more wins."I'd like to be realistic and understand the challenging facing everybody."
Gary Rowett: "It's a difficult place to come, they are an energetic side. I'm really pleased about the way we went about it. There was some really good attacking play.
"As soon as we made two or three passes it opened up a bit. I thought we had to work hard to get into the lead. Second half they came out really well. Potts hit the top of the bar and another where Scott [Carson] has made an excellent save.
"We've had a little bit of criticism at times for not playing as fluidly as we want. There were some real moments of quality. We've got great squad depth and you can see that with the players coming on the pitch. That's the riches we have but also the problems we have to navigate."
