I think much of the excitement around the game came from the atmosphere. There were 8715 supporters in the ground, fewer Imps than expected, but it was still a great occasion for a supporter. Credit to the Tykes’ supporters, they were as loud as any we’ve had here this season, and their songs broke out across the stand, not just in a designated ‘singing section’ as seems the norm these days. A half-decent referee made sure the focus was on the game, not him, and it just contributed to an all-round good game of football.
I felt Barnsley edged the first half, despite us having the two closest chances, but they struggled to get a foothold in the second period, despite having the only shot on target. They came out all guns blazing, with Bobby Thomas, on loan from Burnley, heading wide from a corner two minutes in. On 51 minutes, Adam Jackson’s lunge resulted in a free kick out wide, and it caused real panic – James Norwood and Mads Andersen both having a chance to poke home and not taking it. Jordan Wright dropped on the ball, and those three chances accounted for 67% of Barnsley’s xG. That’s pretty impressive – three chances in the space of three minutes, two in a single three-second passage of play, was the bulk of the danger we faced. This is a team who have won 13 of their last 17 matches.
Why? Why did a top-four club, who have scored 18 goals in their last six games, struggle to create anything of note? How did a side who have only drawn a single blank in the league since January 14th look so blunted? It can only be us, and that’s a massive credit to the back five. I say it every week, but Jackson, Poole and O’Connor are utterly superb, heading everything away. I have no fear of going to Wycombe this weekend because they like to load balls into the box and to put it simply, it won’t work against us. I find it interesting that around me, the moans (and there weren’t many) were about us not being aerially dominant up top, but I bet the same was being said in the away end. Devante Cole is a big lad, powerful in the air, but he didn’t get a sniff. Adam Jackson won 69% of his aerial duels, and whilst that’s a superb number, it felt like more. Paudie won 79% of his, and the highest average % in the division across the whole season is only 73%. This was a unique opportunity for us, a chance to demonstrate that the hollow core we suffered from last season has been filled.
In fact, our defence reminds me a bit of this marketing stunt, which I read about the other day. A company put $3m in cash behind their safety glass at a bus stop and told the public if they could break the glass, they could keep the cash. Our defence is that glass, and incidentally, nobody broke it.
It wasn’t all about the defence. Dylan Duffy had the sort of debut that gives me a lot of hope for the future. He’s eager to take players on, and he’s not afraid to shoot. Some of his crosses were exceptional, and with a physical presence up top, like Ben House or maybe a new face, you can see us getting some real joy from him. Considering he’s only 20 and is fresh off the ferry from Ireland (probably flew here, to be honest, but it’s a turn of phrase), he’s got massive potential. He doesn’t look like a kid; he seems stocky with a bit of a swagger. Dare I say, he reminds me a little of a young Harry Anderson.
I was really impressed with Harry Boyes. There were multiple examples of Boyes delivering wicked balls into the box. One, a free kick from the attacking left in the second half, really interested me. I’ve watched it back, and he’s looking at Mark Kennedy as our head coach yells instructions and positions our players. Only when MK stops does Boyes deliver, and we get a decent chance from it with Adam Jackson. I like that Jacko is getting forward and causing problems, he’s a big lad, strong, and he should maybe have more goals for us than he does. With delivery from out wide as we’ve served up of late, he’ll get a couple more if he stays.
With Lasse, the other wing-back, it’s all about energy. He never stops running, and he looks as fit and fresh on 80 minutes as he does after sixty seconds. He’s just suddenly come into his own, a bit like when a girl in your class at school goes away for the summer and comes back looking like a woman. You remember that, right? That’s Lasse. One minute he’s just part of the crowd, the next, he stands out, shining like a beacon of hope for the future. I love it, and I hope it’s not a flash in the pan. His energy suits wing-back and his runs are often well-timed and troublesome for defences. The added bonus is, as we did last night, he can drop into midfield to add legs on 65 minutes when we want to shore things up a bit.
There was one moment in the first half that tied in three players who give me a reason to be cheerful. It started in front of our box, Erhahon picking up a loose ball with three Barnsley players around him. Nonchalantly, almost effortlessly, he turned and took all three out of the game in one move. His raking pass found Sorensen, who looked to get the ball outside the defender. Duffy chased and was ultimately dispossessed, but his run had Andersen fighting to get back. Three players combined who all looked like solid first-team players last night. It wasn’t the first time either – the same almost teed Plange up, as I mentioned. It’s a nice little combination.
It wasn’t all positive though. We made a change on 71 minutes, with Shodipo and Duffy coming off for Oakley-Boothe and Roughan. Sean Roughan slotted in nicely and certainly looked comfortable, but I can’t say the same for Tashan. It looked to me like he pushed up behind Plange, with Sorensen operating on the attacking right, but it’s hard to tell. I felt Oakley-Boothe ambled about looking a little disinterested, and it’s unlike me to levy that accusation at a player. In his 20-odd minutes on the field, he was involved in 11 actions, only three of which were successful, and two of those were five-yard passes. One pass almost put Barnsley in, a simple ten-yard ball played between two of our players to the feet of a Tykes’ attacker. He also had me screaming in anger late on, when Lasse broke away, outpaced almost everyone and then had to delay a ball into the box. Luke Plange, who had run himself into the ground, arrived late, but Tashan was miles away, slowly ambling up at his own pace. I’ve been a defender of Tashan, saying how unlucky he’s been, but last night’s performance, for me, was truly the first time I’ve had a question mark over a player’s effort.
Still, we could have won it late on, after Barnsley’s first shot on target on 88 minutes. Jovon was sent on late, as we prepped a free-kick. Boyes (again) whipped a brilliant ball into the box, with Regan Poole not an inch away from poking home. Four minutes late, Matty Virtue picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and had our final effort, but tired legs saw him shoot over the bar, to wind up the most entertaining 0-0 draw of the season. We’ve seen him score from a similar range, and it was just another example of the unseen menace, the ‘Blair Witch’ of the football world.
It means nothing, not really. They’ll be top six; we won’t. We’re now unable to go up or down, so officially, we’re safe, but in reality, it’s been the case for weeks now. However, these last few weeks have given us plenty to be hopeful for in the future. Coming into last night’s game, the Tykes were one of the in-form sides in the division, and we matched them. It was an evolution of our early season strengths – we’re not just looking organised, but we’re beginning to look dangerous as well. I firmly believe Ethan Erhahon is a big part of it, linking our exemplary defence with energised forwards, as well as Lasse and Harry Boyes, who are the wing-backs we knew we needed but never knew we had.
Given how we’ve been playing, every game is something to look forward to right now, even with a makeshift front line. My mate Matt said he didn’t want the season to end; such is the freedom we’re playing with. Maybe it’s the fear of relegation being lifted that’s giving us freedom, I don’t know. What I do know is this; it’s mid-April and we want the season to carry on, but there were matches in early November where we just wanted it to end. Perhaps we should all just be patient because there are lots of indications that Mark Kennedy, Danny Butterfield and the rest of the players and staff might just be building something special, something lasting at Sincil Bank.