Moore secures late win for Reds

The result extended the Reds’ unbeaten home run to 12 games and kept them fourth in the League One table. The match was far from a classic and contained long periods of inactivity but, after Southend started both halves the better, Barnsley improved and narrowly shaded the contest while creating marginally the better chances. 

Head coach Daniel Stendel made just one change from the side that beat Bristol Rovers 1-0 the previous week, with Mamadou Thiam replacing George Moncur. Adam Jackson dropped out of the squad due to injury but Cauley Woodrow and Zeki Fryers were fit enough to sit on the bench after missing the entirety of the season so far. 

Southend had an excellent chance to take the lead after less than 90 seconds when Simon Cox’s pull-back from the left side of the Barnsley box found Harry Bunn 12 yards out in the centre of the area but he fired a shot wide of the bottom right corner. 

Adam Davies then made the first save of the game, diving to his left to easily catch a Bunn header after an impressive move down the hosts’ left opened them up in the tenth minute. 

After a very poor start, Barnsley began to improve. Dimitri Cavare glanced a header over from an Alex Mowatt corner but then gave away the ball in his half to Cox whose shot was straight at Davies from outside the box. 

The game then quietened down but Thiam looked to have a fine chance from a Brad Potts cross but could not keep his balance which allowed visiting goalkeeper Mark Oxley to get there first. 

The hosts then had two excellent chances to take the lead in the final minutes before the break. Moore went clean through after Mowatt dinked a pass over the Southend defence but the ball bounced up awkwardly and he had to try an acrobatic volley which was powerful but too close to Oxley who palmed it away. Dani Pinillos’ left-wing cross was then met on the right of the box by Potts who volleyed just wide of the bottom left corner from 12 yards out. 

Thiam fired wide with a low long-range effort early in the second half but Southend then had a good spell. Bunn hesitated when clean through in the Barnsley box and the ball was eventually cleared then Taylor Moore weakly turned the ball towards goal after a penalty box scramble with Davies easily saving down to his right. 

Stendel brought on Ryan Hedges after 56 minutes in an attacking midfield position in place of Mike Bahre who had a quiet game. Midway through the first half, Moore’s looping header from a Mowatt corner hit the top of the bar then Cameron McGeehan brought the ball down but volleyed over from four yards out at an award angle. 

Woodrow was then introduced off the bench for Thiam and Barnsley almost scored within seconds as Hedges’ clever pass put Potts through on goal with no one around him on the left of the box but he slammed a shot from 13 yards out against the crossbar. 

Moore then shot straight at Oxley on the turn from 25 yards out then the ball was in the net at the other end but the linesman ruled that Cox was offside when latching on to Dru Yearwood’s throughball and firing a shot into the bottom left corner. 

Stendel then brought on Moncur for the final seven minutes with Dani Pinillos going off and Hedges being moved to left-back. Hedges was then ruled offside when latching on to a long ball and crossing low from the left for Woodrow to tap in with the flag up. 

The winner came with two minutes to play as Mowatt’s right-wing corner was swung towards the near post where Moore nodded in from just a few yards out. 

Barnsley: Davies, Cavare, Lindsay, Pinnock, Pinillos (Moncur 83mins); Mowatt, McGeehan; Potts, Bahre (Hedges 56), Thiam (Woodrow 66); Moore.  Unused: Greatorex, Fryers, Adeboyejo, Moncur, Brown. Goals: Moore 88.  Southend: Oxley, Moore, Turner, White, Hendrie; Demetriou, Mantom (McCoulsky 90mins), Yearwood, Dieng, Bunn (Kiightly 69); Cox (Robinson 83). Unused: Smith, Bwomono, McLaughlin, Kyprianou.