Reds lose two leads in draw with Coventry

Alex Mowatt put the hosts ahead early on but Coventry levelled with the first goal conceded by the Reds in seven matches. Cauley Woodrow netted three minutes after the break but City again equalised midway through the second half then had the better chances to get the winner. 

The result kept Barnsley second, five points clear of third-placed Portsmouth who have one game in hand and six ahead of fourth-placed Sunderland who have played three fewer matches. They are seven points behind leaders Luton Town who won at Bristol Rovers.  The Reds are now unbeaten in 20 league matches across almost four months while they have not lost in 24 league fixtures at Oakwell.  They were the better side for the first half of each half but then faded against a Coventry side, managed by former Barnsley boss Mark Robins, who are hovering just outside the play-offs. 

Daniel Stendel made two changes from the side that won 1-0 at Walsall the previous week. Ryan Hedges and Adam Davies, who have just returned from international duty with Wales, replaced Mike Bahre and Jack Walton in the starting line-up.

Barnsley played 4-4-2 with Mamadou Thiam up front alongside Cauley Woodrow while Hedges was on the left wing and Jacob Brown on the right. 

Barnsley had the first real chance when Cameron McGeehan pounced on a loose pass by the visitors and played Hedges through on the left of the box but he blazed well over the bar from 15 yards out. 

The hosts took the lead in the tenth minute when Woodrow attempted to find Thiam with a clever pass and the ball went to the Frenchman after Dujon Sterling made a mess of an attempted clearance. Thiam ran into the box from the left and his low cross was turned in from five yards out by Mowatt for his sixth goal of the season. 

Barnsley were on top as McGeehan fired wide with a low 25-yard effort and Woodrow curled wide of the top right corner from a similar distance. But, after an impressive first 20 minutes, the Reds seemed to slow down and let their visitors back into the game  City levelled when home left-back Ben Williams failed to cut out a left-wing cross by Bright Enobakhare and Jordy Hiwula chested the ball down six yards out and blasted past Davies. 

Coventry almost took the lead before the break but a goalmouth scramble ended with Ethan Pinnock half-cleared then the visitors were flagged offside. 

Thiam and Brown both got into good positions in the Coventry box near the byline but failed to pull the ball back to the waiting Woodrow who then later fired over from just outside the box following a good move. 

Thiam then forced visiting goalkeeper Lee Burge into his first save of the match from 12 yards out on the left of the box after McGeehan won the ball with a strong tackle deep in Coventry territory. 

The home side retook the lead three minutes after the break when the impressive Hedges ran into the area from the left wing and pulled the ball back to Woodrow who fired into the bottom right corner from eight yards out to end a four-game scoreless run. 

Woodrow twice fired over from outside the box as did McGeehan after Woodrow let the ball run to him in a good position. But the Sky Blues levelled on 65 minutes when Luke Thomas received the ball on the edge of the box, cut in front the right and fired into the top left corner. 

Williams almost put Barnsley back in front with what would have been his first career goal but his powerful and swerving 25-yard shot was fumbled away by goalkeeper Burge. 

Coventry nearly went in front when Amadou Bakayoko’s flick-on put Hiwula through on goal but he hesitated and, under pressure from Ethan Pinnock, his eventual shot was comfortably saved by Davies diving low to his right. 

Liam Lindsay’s terribly underhit backpass then put Bakayoko clean through and he went round Davies but overhit the ball which went out of play. 

McGeehan’s shot from 15 yards with seven minutes to play was easily caught by Burge. At the other end, Davies sprang to his left to brilliantly save a header from Dom Hyam who beat the offside trap and was unmarked seven yards out then the goalkeeper tackled Charlie Wakefield who tried to reach the rebound. Davies then made another fine save in injury-time to tip over Bakayoko’s header. 

Barnsley (4-4-2): Davies; Cavare, Pinnock, Lindsay, B Williams; Brown (Green 81mins), Mowatt, McGeehan, Thiam (Adeboyejo 88), Hedges (Bahre 77); Woodrow. Unused: Walton, Jackson, Styles, J Williams.  Yellow cards: McGeehan, Williams.  Goals: Mowatt 10, Woodrow 49.  Coventry (4-4-2): Burge; Sterling, Willis, Hyam, Mason (Brown 78mins); Thomas (Wakefield 86), Bayliss, Kelly, Hiwula; Enobakhare, Bakayoko. Subs: Addai, Grimmer, Davies, Meyler, Brown, Wakefield, Shipley.  Yellow cards: Thomas.  Goals: Hiwula 36, Thomas 65.