The second half started with a change – Freddie Draper came off after a decent first 45, with Jack Moylan replacing him. After the game, Moylan said he was disappointed not to have started the game. Well, I imagine he will be even more disappointed if he doesn’t start against Cambridge in midweek because, to put it simply, he absolutely changed the game. Many have pointed to him as Man of the Match for his outstanding contribution in the second period, and I can see why. If that’s a taste of what we can expect from Jack, then in a year’s time, the only things we’re going to have are memories of his performances and a bank balance that’s at least £1m richer than it is now. Players accrue ridiculous value for getting on the ball, running at defenders, beating them, and scoring goals. Look at Ephron Mason-Clark at Posh. Transfermarkt has him as having moved to Coventry for £4.5m because he does the things I’ve just said. If Jack Moylan does what he did this afternoon every other game for the next eight months, he’s going to have a similar fee on his head.
It would be remiss just to pin the second half on him. Every single player had a big role to play, from the tenacious Joe Taylor to the dogged back three. Barnsley are no mugs, we didn’t whack four past a crap outfit here, and they could easily have had a couple more of their own. They didn’t, and much of my write up is going to be taken up talking about goals, starting with a gem on 55 minutes.
I think the second goal came at a great time for us. Barnsley had started tentatively, perhaps not quite able to carry the momentum from their first half into the second. Neil Collins wasn’t happy; he brought Kane and McAtee off on 53 minutes, a move that surprised me. Kane hadn’t had his best game, but I felt McAtee had been a big part of their positivity in the first half, and his going off made me feel a little more confident. Two minutes later, I felt a lot more confident.
Jordan Williams looked to bring the ball out of defence for the home side, but Erhahon stuck a tackle in to disrupt the flow. Moylan snatched the ball off the former Huddersfield man’s toes, but he was nowhere dangerous. 35 yards from goal, he dropped a shoulder and just carried the ball into the area, jinxing past Connell and de Givegney before slotting the ball home. Now, I know I’m someone who does occasionally get carried away, but the little shuffle as he got into the area and the coolness of the finish reminded me an awful lot of one of my favourite players of all time – Paul Gascoigne. Some Man Utd fans might have likened it to a young Wayne Rooney. There was something about the swagger and confidence that instantly made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I love to be proven wrong, and a couple of weeks ago, I said Jack might need time to settle.
Like snow on the mountain caps of Switzerland, he’s settled.
They say 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline, and the pessimist in me was immediately thinking, ‘do not concede now’. I thought if we could keep it tight and maybe get to 75 minutes, we could hold out for the win. No matter what, we were 2-0 up at Oakwell, a ground we haven’t lost on in league action since April 1973. That was an achievement, and whatever happened in the minutes after our second goal, I knew there was plenty to write about that was positive.
Three minutes later, the game was effectively over. It all felt like a whirlwind, and it is funny how it felt a bit like their double salvo at our place. Earlier in the season, they scored twice in four minutes to take a 2-1 lead, and here we did the same, but to extend ours to 3-0. There was a cheeky assist for Joe Taylor, who I thought had a lively game (as I suggested he might on the podcast), but there was also a moment to forget for Josh Earl. I shouted him as a player I liked on the pod, but Ben House outmuscled him near the halfway line before he was left chasing a shadow. House square for Taylor, who performed a delicious little flick for Mandroiu. The former Shamrock man, a recent pariah of sorts, weaved his way into the area, giving Earl a chance at redemption. Sadly (not for us), the former Fleetwood man slipped on the turf, and Mandroiu, having seemingly taken the ball too far, shifted onto his favoured right foot to finish confidently.
I think, at this point, it all began to feel like a dream. Barnsley pretty much knew the game was done, but they still kept pressing forward, looking for goals. There were a couple of scary moments at the other end. I never felt they wouldn’t score, but their commentators did. They were full of praise for the white shirts, enthused over our work rate, our desire, and our application. On 72 minutes, they were admiring a moment of complete and utter quality.
A deep free-kick from the right got headed out to Moylan, who collected 30 yards from goal. Without a moment’s hesitation, he chested it down and unleashed a devastating drive that curled away from Roberts and into the back of the net for 4-0. I think it is what usually gets termed a ‘thunder bastard,’ and it reminded me of a Paul Gas… oh, wait, I’ve already made that comparison. What about a young Wayne…. oh, that too. Oh well, whatever. Whoever he is or isn’t like, Jack Moylan just announced himself on the League One stage, and I strongly suspect 23 teams will be sitting up and listening right now.
There was still plenty left to happen. Barnsley did get a goal, and it didn’t go down well with our lads at all. It was a good one, too. Phillips picked up a long ball and perhaps should have had an assist, but Sam Cosgrove slipped when a tap-in looked easy. Lasse was in a good position to clear, but a solid challenge from Corey O’Keefe led to another deep cross, which Phillips rifled home. That’s 77 minutes, 4-0 going to 4-1, and the reaction from our lads was priceless. They were fuming, shouting at each other, showing that it mattered. I liked that, and judging by a couple of tweets and DMs I’ve had, a few of you liked it as well.
The three-goal deficit lasted no more than two minutes, and once again, our Jack-In-The-Box came up with the goods. Sean Roughan dispossessed goal-hero Phillips, and Moylan pounced on the ball in his own half. He made his way 70 yards forward into the opposition area with a solid, driving run, beating de Givegney and Russell with another little shimmy before seeing his effort saved by Roberts. It mattered not; Jovon Makama had followed the run perfectly and was on hand to see the ball over the line for his first league goal. Instantly, I thought of Germany 1-5 England in 2001, when they tag line was ‘even Heskey scored’. Barnsley 1-5 Imps, and even Makama scored. I don’t mean that as a slur on Makama; he’s a young lad, but he’s had 24 appearances in the league this season, and this was his first goal. When he’s able to break his duck, you know you’ve turned in a great attacking performance. The goal was all Moylan’s apart from the little poke home at the end, but credit Jovon for following in. There’s a player in there, and I hope next season we’re able to get him a good loan so he can find senior minutes, and maybe more goals.
The game didn’t peter out as much as was navigated safely by the lads after that. Writing much more would be me trying to make sense of what happened, trying to put it in place and find a hidden message or direction, but not every game has to be like that. I know that the quality we’ve been threatening over the last few weeks has begun to ooze through. I do know that this set of players, on their day, are as good as any in this division. If we could stay injury-free and get 95% of our first-team players appearing in 95% of our matches, then we’d be a firm part of the Championship conversation. Whether it is too late (it’s certainly not too little) is up for debate, but I’m not bothered about that for now.
For now, I’m going to savour a 5-1 win away at one of the division’s promotion contenders. I’m going to relax, knowing I’ve got this written up in good time. I’m going to smile, watch the highlights again and again, and soak up every single second of a massive result for the club.
Most of all, I’m going to smile, perhaps slightly smugly, perhaps just out of satisfaction, that we have Michael Skubala in charge of our football club. Because now, more than ever, I believe he is the man to take us forward, a man with ideas and the ability to execute them, a man for whom the sky is the limit in football management. I believed in him the moment I had the pleasure of speaking to him, and today’s result is merely a further indication that the board and senior management have made the right decision with a man who can absolutely unify this club in the same way two brothers did eight years ago.
Up the Imps.