Barnsley's 12-game unbeaten run came to an with a 2-1 home loss to local rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
Jordan Rhodes, the former Oakwell academy player, netted either side of half-time to put his side 2-0 up.
Carlton Morris replied in the 78th minute but the Reds were beaten on a day when they put in their worst performances for weeks.
Barnsley remain fifth, five points clear of the sides outside the play-offs but seventh-placed Bournemouth now have a game in hand on them.
Valerien Ismael made no changes from the side that won 3-1 at Wycombe Wanderers on Wednesday. Herbie Kane was not on the bench, with Jasper Moon replacing him.
Barnsley wore special training tops with the message 'keep fighting Bayley' dedicated to Bayley Hassell – the under 18s player and son of former Oakwell hero Bobby Hassell – who is fighting cancer, as announced this week.
Wednesday had to make a change in their starting line-up after goalkeeper Keiren Westwood was injured in the warm-up and replaced by former Barnsley loanee Joe Wildsmith.
Michael Sollbauer should have opened the scoring in the third minute but he fired over the bar from close range at the back post after a left-wing Alex Mowatt corner was flicked on at the near post by Daryl Dike.
The Reds dominated the opening 15 minutes but then lost their way, with Wednesday having the better of the rest of the half.
The visitors should have taken the lead in the 20th minute when goalkeeper Brad Collins rushed out to the edge of his box and missed the ball then Jordan Rhodes fired wide of the nearly empty goal on the left of the box.
Barnsley had the ball in the back of the net when Cauley Woodrow bundled home from close range, following another right-wing Mowatt corner, but the referee ruled that goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith had been fouled while dropping the ball. Barnsley then appealed for a penalty after Dike went down in the box under pressure from Tom Lees.
The visitors took the lead in the 39th minute minute when Barry Bannan's cross from the left wing was headed in by Rhodes from close range.
Woodrow had Barnsley's only shot on goal of the first half in the 44th minute but the 25-yard effort was easily held by Wildsmith.
Ismael made a triple change at the break, with Sollbauer, Romal Palmer and Dominik Frieser replaced by Toby Sibbick, Aapo Halme and Carlton Morris.
The visitors doubled their lead seven minutes into the second half when Callum Styles was tackled in his half by Liam Palmer and Wednesday had two men clean though, with Josh Windass squaring for Rhodes to tap into an open goal.
Julian Borner then headed over a right-wing corner by Bannan then, at the other end, Dike shot straight at the goalkeeper from ten yards after Morris had brought down a Brittain cross from the right.
Windass could have made it 3-0 when a long ball over the top put him in in on the left of the box but he screwed his shot well wide with only Collins to beat.
Morris pulled one back with 12 minutes left when, after a Brittain long throw fell to him, his 15-yard deflected shot looped into the left of the net with the goalkeeper stranded.
Mowatt then curled a 25-yard free-kick just over the bar in the 87th minute.
Barnsley (3-4-3): Collins; Sollbauer (Sibbick HT), Helik, Andersen; Brittain, Mowatt, Palmer (Halme HT), Styles; Frieser (Morris HT), Dike, Woodrow (Chaplin 68mins).
Unused: Collins, J Williams, Oduor, Adeboyejo, Moon.
Goals: Morris 78.
Wednesday (3-4-3): Wildsmith;, Lees, Börner, Urhoghide, Pelupessy, Palmer, Bannan, Paterson, Reach; Windass (Green 84mins) Rhodes.
Unused: Jackson, Brennan, Galvin, Penney, Hunt, Brown, Harris, Kachunga
Yellow cards: Lees, Borner, Paterson.
Goals: Rhodes 39, 52.
AS IT HAPPENED
  • 1:40pm
    Good afternoon and welcome to the Chronicle’s live text coverage of Barnsley’s game at home to Sheffield Wednesday from 3pm.
  • 1:42pm
    Team news is expected at 2pm. Alex Mowatt is not suspended after his red card at Wycombe was rescinded yesterday.
  • 2:02pm
    Barnsley: Collins; Sollbauer, Helik, Andersen; Brittain, Mowatt, Palmer, Styles; Frieser, Dike, Woodrow. Unused: Collins, J Williams, Chaplin, Morris, Sibbick, Oduor, Halme, Adeboyejo, Moon.
  • 2:03pm
    Valerien Ismael has made no changes from the side that won 3-1 at Wycombe Wanderers on Wednesday. Herbie Kane is not on the bench, with Jasper Moon replacing him.
  • 2:09pm
    Wednesday: Westwood, Palmer, Lees, Börner, Urhoghide, Pelupessy, Bannan, Reach, Windass, Paterson, Rhodes. Subs: Wildsmith, Brennan, Galvin, Penney, Hunt, Brown, Green, Harris, Kachunga
  • 2:13pm
    The Reds are fifth in the Championship with nine games to play, five points clear of the sides below the top six and eight off the second automatic promotion place.
  • 2:16pm
    They are unbeaten in 12 – with nine wins from the last ten – which is their longest unbeaten run at second tier level since the 2001/02 season. Today they can make it the longest run at this level since 1984 when the second tier club record of 15 was set.
  • 2:18pm
    Barnsley have more than twice as many points as Wednesday who are second-bottom, nine points from safety. The Owls – who were deducted six points at the start of the season for breaching financial fair play rules – were on a seven-game losing run before a 1-1 draw at home to another Yorkshire neighbour in Huddersfield Town on Wednesday evening.
  • 2:22pm
    Valerien Ismael’s record in 19 games against sides below the top nine is 16 wins, two draws – against Nottingham Forest and Derby – and one defeat at Blackburn, giving them 50 points from a possible 57.
  • 2:23pm
    They will look to continue that today and complete another double, having won twice over Birmingham, QPR and Wycombe.
  • 2:23pm
    The Owls have had four managers this season, three of them former Barnsley defenders and the other Tony Pulis who was in charge for a 2-1 home loss to the Reds in December.
  • 2:25pm
    Darren Moore, who played 76 games for the Reds between 2008 and 2010 including their last home win over Wednesday, left a League One promotion challenge with Doncaster Rovers to take over the Owls at the start of this month.
  • 2:27pm
    His first game was a home derby loss to fellow strugglers Rotherham United followed by a 3-0 defeat at Reading, in which the Owls were handed a seventh red card of the season. They then lost 2-1 at home to leaders Norwich City before the midweek draw.
  • 2:32pm
    Moore took over from caretaker Neil Thompson – a Barnsley hero from the 1997 promotion team – who, after winning six of his first nine games in charge in all competitions, had lost four in a row.
  • 2:33pm
    Thompson had replaced veteran manager Pulis who was sacked at the end of 2020 after a ten-game stint which brought just one win, having replaced another ex-Red in Garry Monk who was sacked in November with the Owls second-last.
  • 2:44pm
    Wednesday have not collected a point this season from a losing position, but have thrown away 25 when leading. The Owls are the division’s second lowest scorers with 25 goals in 36 games.Their away form, since a shock win at Bournemouth last month, has seen them lose five successive games on the road. After winning two of their first three away league games of the season, they have lost 12 of 15 away from home.
  • 2:44pm
    Only Wycombe have fewer away points in the Championship this season while only Luton have netted fewer goals than Wednesday’s 11 in 18 away matches.
  • 2:49pm
    Barnsley collected their first win over Wednesday in 12 attempts across 11 years when they won 2-1 at Hillsborough on December 12. Despite Josh Windass scoring in the fourth minute after an error by goalkeeper Jack Walton, Cauley Woodrow levelled following another goalkeeping mistake by ex-Red Joe Wildsmith then Dominik Frieser netted a 37th-minute winner at the end of an excellent team move.
  • 2:49pm
    The Reds now have the chance to complete their first double over the Owls since the 2008/09 season. In the home game that campaign, a Barnsley side including Moore won 2-1 which is the Reds’ only victory at Oakwell over the Owls in 11 attempts since 2001, with seven draws and three defeats.
  • 2:49pm
    Before that, there was a 3-0 victory in 2001 with Chris Morgan’s opener followed by Mike Sheron’s brace, a 2000 meeting in which Bruce Dyer got the only goal, and a 1998 Premier League 2-1 success thanks to Ashley Ward and Jan Aage Fjortoft.
  • 2:54pm
    Wednesday’s last four trips to their near neighbours have all brought 1-1 draws. The last two have seen both goals scored in the first 25 minutes with Wednesday taking the lead before equalisers by Oli McBurnie in 2018 and Woodrow last year.
  • 2:56pm
    Before that, Angus MacDonald netted an injury-time leveller after ex-Red Sam Winnall had scored and celebrated by running almost the length of the East Stand. There will not be the usual cauldron atmosphere for these fixtures at Oakwell tomorrow but it is a vital match for both clubs for different reasons.
  • 2:56pm
    Barnsley head coach Ismael has taken 60 points from 30 games since arriving in October, the second most of any club in that time, and put the Reds in the Championship’s top six at this stage in a season for the first time since 2000. But he has insisted all along that he will not look at the league table or publicly discuss a promotion challenge until the two-week international break which begins after tomorrow’s derby.
  • 2:56pm
    Ismael told the Chronicle: “The job is not finished. We have one game until the international break. We are just focused on winning the next games. We don’t think too much about the run. After, we will see what is going on in the table. We have a lot of time in the international break to think about what we can do in the rest of the season.”
  • 2:58pm
    Wednesday change. Keiren Westwood injured and replaced in goal by ex Reds loanee Joe Wildsmith .
  • 2:59pm
    Wednesday are second-bottom in the table, nine points from safety. They had lost six games in a row before a 1-1 draw at home to Huddersfield Town on Wednesday. They are managed by former Barnsley defender Darren Moore who joined them from Doncaster Rovers last month. The Reds will be looking to do the double over the Owls after a 2-1 success at Hillsborough in December.
  • 3:01pm
    UNDERWAY
  • 3:02pm
    2 Good start for Barnsley. They have had a couple of long throws cleared and now a corner
  • 3:03pm
    2 Mowatt corner on the right, punched away at his near post by Wildsmith
  • 3:04pm
    3 Massive chance for the Reds. A Mowatt corner is flicked on at the near post by Daryl Dike and ,Michael Sollbauer volleys over at the back. It's a massive chance for the centre-back who has never scored for the Reds
  • 3:06pm
    A very bright start from the Reds, they are having most of the ball and putting their hosts under pressure
  • 3:08pm
    5 Brittain long ball down the right, Dike does very well to beat a man and move into the box then his powerful low cross to the front post is parried by Wildsmith who has not looked convincing so far, but it lands safely and is cleared
  • 3:10pm
    9 Frieser long throw on left. It is cleared, but worked back to Frieser who wins a free-kick on the left
  • 3:10pm
    10 Mowatt's free-kick on the left is headed clear
  • 3:14pm
    All Barnsley so far. Sollbauer missed a big chance in the third minute. Wednesday not had an attack as of yet. 0-0 after 13 mins
  • 3:14pm
    The Reds, at the moment, look a far more confident team than their visitors as the league table would suggest. They are the firs to every loose ball and the only side trying to attack
  • 3:17pm
    15 Windass is put in behind the home backline, he passes out to the left for Reach to cross with Palmer meeting it at the back post but he is penalised for a foul on Styles
  • 3:19pm
    The game has become a lot more even in the last few minutes, after Wednesday could barely get out of their half for the first ten or so
  • 3:20pm
    20 Massive chance for the Owls. Brad Collins rushes out to the edge of his box and tries to kick the ball but misses it, Rhodes then fires wide of an open goal on the left of the box
  • 3:25pm
    25 Mowatt free-kick from the right. Headed behind for a corner
  • 3:26pm
    26 Mowatt's corner from the right is dropped by Wildsmith and bundled in by Woodrow but the referee gives a foul on the goalkeeper
  • 3:29pm
    28 Barnsley appeal for a penalty after Dike goes down in the box under pressure from Tom Lees following a long ball
  • 3:30pm
    29 Terrible miskick by Lees but Wildsmith comes out to clear before Frieser can get there
  • 3:33pm
    Daryl Dike is playing really well, holding the ball up well and bringing team-mates into play while also beating a defender on a couple of occasions and setting his side off on an attack. He should have had an assist for Sollbauer's early miss
  • 3:34pm
    Brad Collins is definitely Wednesday's best route to goal at the moment. He rushes out to the edge of his box but is beaten to it by Rhodes again, only for the ball to go out for a throw in
  • 3:36pm
    YELLOW CARD
    Julian Borner booked for a foul on Dike
  • 3:37pm
    37 Mowatt free-kick on the right wing. headed away for a corner
  • 3:37pm
    37 Mowatt corner cleared as is Frieser's follow-up shot
  • 3:38pm
    Wednesday have scored
  • 3:39pm
    GOAL!
    Jordan Rhodes heads in a Bannan cross
  • 3:41pm
    Joe Wildsmith is now also injured. The Owls have have to bring on young goalkeeper Luke Jackson
  • 3:44pm
    Wildsmith is up and playing again
  • 3:44pm
    44 Woodrow shoots from about 25 yards but Wildsmith catches easily
  • 3:44pm
    That Wednesday goal was a bit of a sucker punch for the Reds. It has been an even game overall
  • 3:48pm
    HALF-TIME: Barnsley 0, Wednesday 1. The Owls lead thanks to a header by former Oakwell academy player Jordan Rhodes.
  • 4:04pm
    Ismael has made a triple change at the break, with Sollbauer, Romal Palmer and Dominik Frieser replaced by Toby Sibbick, Aapo Halme and Carlton Morris.
  • 4:08pm
    Decent start to the second half for the Reds. Morris whips in a low cross from the left but there is no one there to meet it
  • 4:11pm
    The game has become scrappy again, a lot of long balls from Barnsley with no end result
  • 4:12pm
    52 Dike wins a free-kick 30 yards out
  • 4:13pm
    Alex Mowatt's 30-yard free-kick is headed at the back post by Helik who lofts it back across goal but the 'keeper catches easily
  • 4:14pm
    GOAL!
    Jordan Rhodes makes it 2-0
  • 4:15pm
    Callum Styles is tackled deep in his half then Wednesday are through on goal, with Windass squaring to Rhodes to tap into the open goal
  • 4:17pm
    Ismael calls his whole team over for a chat while a visiting player is down
  • 4:21pm
    A real tall order for the Reds to get something out of this game now. But they have surprised us all season so can they do so again?
  • 4:21pm
    61 Bannan's right-wing corner is headed over by Borner
  • 4:23pm
    Barnsley have been well below their usual standards. Sloppy at the back and lacking a spark going forward
  • 4:24pm
    64 Chance for the hosts, a Brittain cross from the right is brought down by Morris and falls for Dike whose shot from ten yards is sliced and straight at Wildsmith who catches easily
  • 4:27pm
    66 Mowatt free-kick on the left. Cleared, as is his follow up cross
  • 4:27pm
    Chaplin on for Woodrow
  • 4:30pm
    70 Another chance for the visitors, a long ball puts Windass through on goal on the left but he fires wide of the left post
  • 4:35pm
    15 Minutes to go. Barnsley have gone a bit flat in the attack in the last few minutes
  • 4:37pm
    77 Mowatt's right-wing corner is scrambled away, amid calls for a penalty
  • 4:38pm
    GOAL!
    Carlton Morris' deflected shot goes in after a long throw by Brittain
  • 4:40pm
    Game on
  • 4:42pm
    That's Morris' sixth goal since arriving in January, despite starting just three games
  • 4:43pm
    83 Mowatt's free-kick on the left is flicked by Andersen but goes through everyone and is cleared
  • 4:44pm
    Andre Green comes on for Josh Windass
  • 4:45pm
    85 Mowatt's right-wing free-kick is cleared
  • 4:47pm
    YELLOW CARD
    Callum Paterson booked for bringing down Dike on the attack
  • 4:47pm
    87 Mowatt free-kick. 25 yards out. Curls just over
  • 4:50pm
    Five added minutes
  • 4:51pm
    This could be a huge five minutes in the season, Can Barnsley find a leveller to extend their unbeaten run?
  • 4:52pm
    90+2 Barnsley win a corner
  • 4:53pm
    90+3 Mowatt's left wing corner is headed clear
  • 4:53pm
    Into the final minute of the five added
  • 4:56pm
    FULL_TIME: Barnsley 1, Sheffield Wednesday 2. The Reds' unbeaten run comes to an end.

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