Bristol City vs Barnsley. Sky Bet Championship.
Ashton GateAttendance20,570.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at Ashton Gate
Saturday 18 January 2020 18:33, UK
Niclas Eliasson struck an 87th-minute winner as Bristol City maintained their push for a Sky Bet Championship play-off spot with a 1-0 victory over Barnsley at Ashton Gate.
The winger picked his spot at the far post with a low drive after a brilliant run and cross from the left by Jay Dasilva had created the chance.
It was rough justice on Barnsley, who had created plenty of openings themselves in a match of exciting approach play and wretched finishing.
Barnsley were forced into a late team change when Clarke Oduor was injured in the warm-up and Ben Williams was called into the starting line-up.
A wide open first half brought plenty of opportunities for both teams. City were denied by the woodwork after 10 minutes when Josh Brownhill challenged for an Eliasson corner and the ball struck the crossbar off the head of a Barnsley defender.
Conor Chaplin was a lively raider for Barnsley and had two shots blocked after 13 minutes, Ashley Williams making the second vital challenge.
City goalkeeper Dan Bentley reacted well to keep out a 14th-minute shot from Alex Mowatt. At the other end, Famara Diedhiou had a low shot deflected just past the far post.
Chaplin's shot following a Mowatt corner was kept out by the combined efforts of Bentley and Andreas Weimann as Barnsley continued to attack with menace.
Diedhiou headed wide at the far post from Eliasson's 27th-minute cross before City hit the crossbar again through Williams' near-post header, with Barnsley keeper Brad Collins getting a touch.
Eliasson saw a shot blocked from a Diedhiou pass before the visitors had the final effort of an entertaining 45 minutes, Marcel Ritzmaier firing narrowly wide.
The second half began where the first had left off and Williams had to be alert to block a close-range shot from Chaplin.
Barnsley were looking more likely to break the deadlock and Luke Thomas was left with his hands on his head when failing to hit the target from six yards after 57 minutes.
Eliasson was equally red-faced two minutes later when shooting over from 12 yards after an effort from Weimann had been blocked.
It was Barnsley's turn to hit the crossbar after 62 minutes from a measured chip by Ritzmaier inside the box.
At times, it seemed neither side wanted to score as Diedhiou blazed over from a Weimann cross when the City striker should at least have hit the target.
Mowatt fired just wide for Barnsley with neither defence looking comfortable but his team were made to pay for the lack of a finishing touch when Eliasson broke their hearts.
Bristol City's Lee Johnson: "I don't think there is a word in the dictionary to describe the emotion. There was a lot of flak flying about after our cup result and we owed our fans a response to a disappointing performance. They were great and I'm delighted we sent them home happy.
"I thought we deserved to win against a Barnsley side I rate highly. You can see the benefits of the work they have been putting in and when we failed to clear their press they looked very dangerous. We have had so much go wrong this season in terms of injuries to key players and I'm really proud of my squad."
Barnsley's Gerhard Struber: "It was a very disappointing defeat and a very disappointing moment for me and my players. I was pleased with the performance and, especially in the second half, we created a lot of chances.
"We were not in the same killer mood as in recent games. But I believe that if we continue to play that way we will get the results we need to stay in this league."
