Two South Yorkshire clubs rooted in the bottom three met at Oakwell today as Barnsley played host to Sheffield Wednesday.
Barnsley went in front after a quarter of an hour when Reda Johnson gave the ball away to Marcus Pedersen who spectacularly volleyed home after his initial shot had pinged back off the post.
Wednesday should have had a penalty 10 minutes into the second half when Jean-Yves M'voto clearly handed a long throw but it went unseen by referee Robert Madley.
The Owls were level soon after though when Matty Fryatt, possibly making his last appearance for the club on loan, emulated Pedersen with a volley of similar ferocity.
That's how it stayed until the end as both clubs remain in the drop zone. Here, Sports Mole pores over an arduous 90 minutes.
Match statistics:
Barnsley:
Shots 11
On target 2
Possession 48%
Corners 8
Fouls 10
Wednesday:
Shots 15
On target 4
Possession 52%
Corners 8
Fouls 9
Was the result fair?
Without a doubt. A 1-1 draw was probably the most likely outcome before the match started and it came to fruition as two evidently out-of-form sides failed to bring their best to the table. Barnsley edged the first half but Wednesday were better in the second so a draw was a completely fair result.
Barnsley's performance
David Flitcroft's men went in at half time with a deserved lead after Pedersen's rocket volley. In all honesty, Wednesday's sluggish display meant that Barnsley didn't even have to dig that deep to go in front. Flitcroft won't have learned much about this side tonight apart from the fact that he has to continue with Paddy McCourt, whose dribbling ability was the most appealing element of the game.
Wednesday's performance
Dave Jones's side are still yet to win in the league this year. That was their eighth draw from 13 games. They don't have an obvious weakness but there is little to excite when watching them. At the back, Reda Johnson's carelessness costed them a goal while up front Fryatt was very quiet apart from his well-taken goal. Atdhe Nuhiu came on and provided a better aerial threat and it was Wednesday, if you had to pick a team, who looked more likely to snatch the points in the dying moments.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Paddy McCourt: McCourt's goal against Boro last week was one to remember as he danced his way past several challenges before finishing low. Today, he was electric with the ball once more. One particular moment in the first half stood out as he nutmegged the first man before putting the ball around the next defender and then fizzing a cross-cum-shot just wide.
Biggest gaffe
There we no obvious gaffes from the players today but we're going to highlight the miss of Michail Antonio soon after Fryatt had equalised. The explosive forward was all alone in the middle but could only hit Barnsley keeper Jack Butland with his volley.
Referee performance
Robert Madley will have better day's with the whistle. He made a real clanger when he failed to point to the spot after M'voto punched Reda Johnson's long throw out for a corner.
What next?
Barnsley: Next up for the Tykes is a trip to Ipswich Town on Friday night.
Wednesday: The Owls, meanwhile, can win for the first time if they come past Reading in a week's time.
Pascal Lemesre
