Barnsley vs Middlesbrough. Sky Bet Championship.
Oakwell StadiumAttendance16,106.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at Oakwell
Saturday 22 February 2020 21:25, UK
Struggling Barnsley followed up their impressive victory at Fulham last week with a 1-0 win against Middlesbrough.
Conor Chaplin's second-half goal gave Gerhard Struber's side a valuable three points against a Middlesbrough side hovering just above the relegation zone. The result means Boro are now without a win in their last ten games in all competitions.
Struber made one change with Clarke Oduor taking over from Luke Thomas.
Boro boss Jonathan Woodgate made four changes with Ryan Shotton returning after a long injury lay-off. Marvin Johnson also received a recall and there were places in attack for Ravel Morrison and Britt Assombalonga.
Lewis Wing threatened early on with a shot from inside the area which was blocked by Aapo Halme.
Boro goalkeeper Aynsley Pears was forced to tip the ball away from Alex Mowatt's tricky deep cross.
Mowatt drilled in a low shot which was deflected wide and following the resulting corner, Chaplin also put a low drive narrowly wide. Wing fired wide from around 25 yards out.
Wing posed another threat early in the second half with a free-kick which was deflected wide off the defensive wall.
Shotton did well to head away as Chaplin waited to pounce.
Mowatt shot over from just inside the area while Cauley Woodrow missed the target with an effort from distance.
Woodrow then put a shot on target from inside the 'D', but it was straight at Pears who gathered the ball comfortably.
Woodgate made a change in attack, sending Rudy Gestete on in place of Assombalonga.
Chaplin (73) scored at the second attempt, firing into the net after his shot on the turn inside the area saw the ball come back off the bar.
Woodgate made another substitution in a bid to spark his team into life, with Hayden Coulson taking over from Morrison.
A final change soon followed with George Saville making way for Paddy McNair.
Chaplin left the field with Thomas taking his place.
Boro failed to pose a serious threat in the closing stages while Barnsley appeared content to see out the match, rarely venturing forward.
The visiting fans made their feelings clear as the manager and players made their way towards the tunnel, with chants of "you're not fit to wear the shirt" echoing around the stadium.
Barnsley's Gerhard Struber: "I'm very happy. It is very important in our situation to pick up points and also that we create a very good performance together. The attitude and the energy was amazing and I'm very proud of my team today. I hope we can bring this energy in the next few weeks.
"We believe in us and we were very clear in our plan on the ball today. We had a different formation and my three centre-backs created a special performance. We celebrate a big win against a very good team. In the whole league, they have two strikers with very big quality and my three centre-backs gave them no chance."
Middlesbrough's Jonathan Woodgate: "They played well and we weren't great at times in the game. It was a really disappointing result for us. We didn't create any opportunities. We lacked that belief to really create chances. We had a big following today and we didn't give them anything.
"We've been in a relegation place before and put a run together of four games on the spin, which I'm hoping and believing we will do again. We're going to get hard times. The fans are just as frustrated as we are so we just have to take it on the chin. We need to start winning games sharpish."
