Reds beat club record points tally with narrow win

Alex Mowatt put the Reds ahead with a long-range stunner midway through the first half but the visitors levelled before the break. Jacob Brown netted the winner early in the second half while the visitors were kept out by a series of excellent stops from Adam Davies. 

Daniel Stendel’s side now have 85 points, which is three more than the previous record set in the 1999/2000 season, while they are unbeaten in 26 league games at Oakwell.

The result kept Barnsley in League One’s second automatic promotion place, two points clear of Portsmouth and Sunderland who both won and both have a game in hand. Leaders Luton Town, currently two points clear of the Reds, are due to play tomorrow. 

Stendel kept the same side which beat Fleetwood Town six days previously, but top-scorer Kieffer Moore returned on the bench following a head injury. 

Barnsley struggled to play their best football in a first half which lacked quality and the Salops had the better opportunities.  Shrewsbury had a huge chance to take the lead in the third minute when Tyrese Campbell played Shaun Whalley clean through on goal and Davies made a one-on-one save then Adam Jackson cleared the rebound from the same player off the line. Whalley then crossed from the right and Campbell headed wide in the 11th minute.

Mike Bahre had Barnsley’s first shot in the 22nd minute, whipping a volley just wide from the right side of the penalty area. It was 1-0 a minute later when Mamadou Thiam’s left-wing pull-back eventually rolled to Mowatt whose outstanding 25-yard shot with his weaker right foot beat the goalkeeper and flew high into the right side of the goal.

Shrewsbury tried to respond in kind but Greg Docherty’s strike from outside the box went wide of the top left corner. The visitors eventually levelled in the 39th minute when Campbell volleyed impressively in from the edge of the penalty area after Barnsley could only half-clear a cross. The Reds thought that Ethan Pinnock had been fouled in the build-up to the goal. 

Shrewsbury missed another one-on-one chance just before the break when Adam Jackson’s error allowed Whalley to play Campbell through on goal and Davies had to make another fine save. 

The visitors had another major chance three minutes into the second half when former Barnsley youth player Luke Waterfall headed into the ground and over the bar when totally unmarked five yards out from a cross by Docherty. Campbell then volleyed inches wide of the bottom right corner from ten yards out after Whalley nudged on a throw by ex-Red Scott Golbourne.

It was then Barnsley’s turn to come within inches of a goal as Thiam surged down the left side of the box and pulled the ball back for Cameron McGeehan whose 15-yard shot crashed against the underside of the crossbar. 

The Reds then took the lead in the 56th minute when Jordan Williams played in Bahre on the right of the box and he cut the ball back to Brown who, seven yards out, smashed the ball low into the bottom right corner. 

Moore was then brought on to a huge reception from the fans after missing the last 11 matches. He immediately dispossessed Waterfall and Thiam played in Woodrow on the right of the box but he fired well over the bar. Woodrow shot just wide of the bottom left corner from 25 yards then Moore nodded a McGeehan corner wide before appealing for a penalty. 

Shrewsbury had the better chances late on as Golbourne almost levelled in the 78th-minute but his 25-yard shot was clawed out of the top left corner by Davies who then made his third one-on-one save of the match from substitute Fejiri Okenabirhie who latched onto a loose pass by Mowatt. 

Barnsley (4-4-1-1): Davies; J Williams, Jackson, Pinnock, Pinillos; Brown, Mowatt, McGeehan, Thiam (Hedges 80mins); Bahre (Moore 64); Woodrow (Styles 90).  Subs: Walton, Green, Cavare, Fryers.  Goals: Mowatt 23, Brown 56.  Shrewsbury (3-4-2-1): Mitchell; Williams, Waterfall, Beckles; Sears, Norburn, Grant, Golbourne; Docherty (Smith 86mins), Whalley; Campbell (Okenabihrie 74). Unused: Charles-Cook, Sadler, Bolton, Gilliead, Laurent. Yellow cards: Waterfall, Whalley.  Goals: Campbell 39.