Barnsley are expecting the same ‘aggression’ from Shrewsbury Town tomorrow as when they lost in Shropshire earlier in the season.
Daniel Stendel’s side – who will be looking to extend their unbeaten Oakwell run to 26 games – lost 3-1 at the New Meadow on Tuesday, October 23. It was a bad-tempered game in which Barnsley felt their star midfielder Kenny Dougall was targeted by several heavy tackles. He limped off after 21 minutes with an injury which kept him out for two months after a foul by Anthony Grant who received a booking when the Reds wanted a red card. Stendel was eventually sent off for his part in a touchline altercation.
Shrewsbury are now 13th in the table, six points and eight places clear of the relegation zone. They are unbeaten in three, having won 2-0 at both Southend and Gillingham either side of a 1-1 home draw with Scunthorpe. They previously had the worst away record in the division but doubled their tally of wins on the road with successes in their last two matches away from Shropshire.
Coach Dale Tonge said: “We expect a very very tough Shrewsbury team to turn up. Although they have different manager, they still play a similar style. I would expect the aggression and intensity to be there because, ultimately, that’s what got them their reward in the last game.”
The Shrews scored in the second minute of the first meeting then doubled the lead midway through the first half and, although Ethan Pinnock pulled one back, former Oakwell youth player Luke Waterfall made it 3-1. Waterfall, who has six goals this season from centre-back, could be joined in the visiting defence by another ex-Red Scott Golbourne. The 31-year-old, who made 53 appearances for Barnsley in 2012 and 2013, moved to the Shrews in January.
A third former Barnsley player in the Town squad is striker Stefan Payne. He made 12 appearances, all from the bench, in a year at Oakwell before moving to Shrewsbury where he was top-scorer last season. He moved to Bristol Rovers last summer but, after scoring only twice in 20 league games, he returned to the Shrews on loan. He is his yet to score in five games, only one of which was a start, while he has been an unused substitute in their last five.
Shrewsbury finished third in League One last season with 87 points but lost to Rotherham United at Wembley in the play-off final. Manager Paul Hurst moved to Ipswich Town as well as some star players and they have been battling at the other end of the table. Hurst’s replacement John Askey was sacked with the club 18th in November, despite two wins in his last three games including the Barnsley match, and replaced by Sam Ricketts who moved from non-league Wrexham who had given him a first managerial role six months earlier.
Former Premier League defender and 52-cap Wales international Rickets, 37, played against Barnsley 11 times, more than he played against any other club. He played the full 120 minutes of the 2006 play-off final for Swansea City, who lost on penalties to the Reds, and also appeared against them for Hull City, Bolton Wanderers and Coventry City. Shrewsbury have only won twice in 20 games at Oakwell, but one of those was on their last trip there in 2015.
