The Saints produced a Smash and Grab performance yesterday in Yorkshire. With plenty of games being postponed due to frozen pitches – the red half of Hampshire will be looking up to sky that yesterday’s 3 o’clock kick off was played.
It was David McGoldrick`s’ 76th minute header which sealed the three points for the Saints. Yesterday’s win is now their fifth away win of the season, and takes them above Doncaster Rovers who have a game in hand.
The Tykes dominated most of the game and should have been a goal up when Jamie Cureton’s strike was smashed over Kelvin Davis’ bar. The Yorkshire side continued to pressurise the struggling Saints but as so often this season – it was Kelvin Davis who stood in their way with shots from Jon Macken, Jamal Campbell-Ryce and Maceo Rigters all failing to score.
The south coast side failed to trouble Heinz Muller in the Barnsley goal, with Bradley Wright-Phillips’ snap shot being the best for the Saints in the opening 45 minutes.
The Barnsley onslaught continued and you sensed that the home side were surely going to get past Davis. However, the 32 year old spectacularly denied captain Stephen Foster when his headed was tipped over by the Saints keeper.
You sensed that if Barnsley failed to take their chances, Saints could snatch a winner. And this is exactly what happened when Lee Holmes whipped in a cross to the box and David McGoldrick towered above everyone else in the area to guide his header to the bottom corner and celebrate his seventh league goal of the season.
The game ended with Barnsley wondering how on earth they haven’t got anything from the game. The Saints move up to 22nd to be level on points with Norwich and just one point behind both Watford and Forest.
Barnsley Team:
Muller, Foster, Moore, Guedes, Van Homoet, Campbell-Ryce, Hassell, El Haimour (Butterfield 66), Cureton, Macken, Rigters (Odejayi 78).
Subs Not Used: Steele, Potter, Heslop.
Saints Team:
Davis, Perry, Saganowski (Wotton 81), Saeijs, Molyneux, Holmes, Schneiderlin, James, Surman, McGoldrick, Wright-Phillips (McLaggon 90).
Subs Not Used: Bialkowski, Gillett, Gobern.