Report: Barnsley 3-2 Iron

With the disappointment of a first pre-season defeat at the hands of National League North side Buxton in midweek, the Iron would return to action for the first of two behind closed doors fixtures in one weekend as a squad of 13 players travelled to Oakwell in order to face League One opponents in the form of Barnsley, in what was going to be a stern test for Andy Butler’s side.

With half of the Scunthorpe squad set to play in this encounter and the other half sent to face Leeds United U21’s the following day, the Iron squad would be made to play the full 90 minutes for the first time this pre-season campaign, another hurdle that they were going to have to overcome against an almost full strength Barnsley side.

When proceedings were set underway the Iron would make the perfect start to this encounter when within the opening two minutes they would take an early lead courtesy of Declan Howe. 

After some high pressing from James Gale to regain possession deep inside the Barnsley final third, the attacking midfielder would work a yard of space before driving a perfectly weighted pass across the area for Howe on the edge of the box who leathered the ball towards the target, proving too much for the goalkeeper who could only palm it in. 

Now with an advantage to build on, Scunthorpe would look to expand on their lead almost immediately when again Gale looked lively in and around the Tyke’s area, breaking beyond the defensive line before looking to provide a side footed finish across goal that was crucially blocked by the recovering defender to stop a certain second. 

From the following corner the Barnsley goalkeeper would be called into action to again deny United when Pat Jones’s out swinging corner delivery found Danny Whitehall who had managed to wrestle free of his marker to direct a header on goal that seemed destined to loop over the keeper until a last second intervention to palm the ball over the crossbar. 

After what had been an energetic start to proceedings at Oakwell the hosts wouldn’t need a second invitation to draw the scores level with their first opportunity of the game when a well worked attacking move saw a deep cross to the far post for former Leicester City forward Amani Richards to head goalwards, powering the ball beyond Louis Jones to make it 1-1.

With the scores level and plenty of time remaining for either side to take authority of proceedings, the hosts would make their case to do so when former United midfielder Cameron McGeehan collected possession 20 yards from goal before letting fly with a dipping strike that narrowly evaded the bottom corner, clipping the outside of the post on it’s way behind. 

With the game approaching the half hour mark, the Iron would find the breakthrough they desired when a delicate pass in behind from Whitehall allowed Gale to go steaming through on goal, forcing an impressive save out of Cieran Slicker to stop the initial chance before the ball would fall kindly for Pat Jones on the edge of the area to tap home into an empty net. 

For the remainder of the first-half’s action there would be very little to report as the sides were locked in a tightly contested affair, hence bringing the first-half’s action to an end before kickstarting a second half that saw tempers flare in the early exchanges as the two outfits battled for the all important next goal.

After 10 minutes of battling the second-half’s first opportunity would see the Tykes come close to levelling the scores once again when wing-back Tyrese Noslin burst down the right-flank to meet a cross field ball before settling himself and swinging an inviting cross to the back post for striker Patrick Kelly to attack, driving his header into the ground before it bounced over the crossbar from what had been a promising position. 

As the half progressed and the hosts began to introduce fresh legs to the affair, they would begin to enjoy a purple patch of possession that again very nearly resulted in the equaliser if not for the linesman’s flag as defender Arley Kay advanced into the Scunthorpe half before unleashing a sensational low strike that forced Louis Jones into a reaction save down to his right, although the seconds would fall back into the path of the offside Kelly who’s tap home from close range was disallowed. 

With just under 20 minutes remaining the tiring Scunthorpe would finally crack as the hosts drew the game level. After Will Evans initial clearance to turn away Noslin’s cross, possession would fall kindly into the feet of Jonathan Bland who rattled the ball into the bottom corner with an unstoppable finish, tying up the game for what was to be a competitive closing stage to the encounter. 

Following the equaliser, United would look to mount a response as they had a chance of their own to regain their lead when Pat Jones’s pressed from the front to win the ball in a dangerous area before slotting the ball into the path of Whitehall in the penalty area, who touched, turned and drove the ball towards the bottom corner of Slicker’s net, forcing him to make a strong save at his near post before pushing the ball behind for a corner. 

With the encounter in it’s closing stages Barnsley would bring on the calvary in the form of star man Reyes Cleary and former Iron loanee forward Leo Farrell to try and win the encounter and there was only going to be one man who was going to find the winner as Farrell struck within minutes of entering the fray. 

With Cleary racing down the left the highly rated wide-man would tee up his substitute partner perfectly with a low ball to the centre of the goal that Farrell but had to tap home from a matter of yards, providing a composed finish to win his side the tightly contested fixture.

As the referee brought play to a close at Oakwell’s training centre, United would be disappointed to fall to defeat despite an almighty effort that ultimately wasn’t quite enough due to the fresh legs of Barnsley’s second-half substitutes. 

IRON: L. Jones, Evans, C. Howe, D. Howe, Whitehall, Rowley, P. Jones, Richards, Gale, Denton, Barrows.

IRON UNUSED SUBS: Campbell, Carmody.

REFEREE: Ashley Royston