Barnsley's unbeaten run ends with defeat at Coventry

The hosts netted the winner in the 80th minute to continue the Reds’ record of not winning an away game against the Sky Blues in 25 games across 95 years since 1923. 

Jacob Brown, on his first league start, had three excellent chances to open his career account in senior football at 0-0 in a decent game in which most sides missed several opportunities and had spells of pressure.  

The Reds are still third in the table after Sunderland, Walsall and Peterborough also lost but they are now five points adrift of leaders Portsmouth. 

Head coach Daniel Stendel made three changes from the side that drew with Walsall a week earlier. Brown made his first league start in place of George Moncur while Kenny Dougall and Adam Davies returned from international duty to replace Jack Walton and Cameron McGeehan. Brown played on the right wing with Mamadou Thiam on the left and Mike Bahre up front with Kieffer Moore. 

Conor Chaplin, who signed for Coventry from Portsmouth after Barnsley attempted to recruit him this summer, should have opened the scoring in the seventh minute but fired wide after being put clean through on goal in yards of space.

Brown had a similar opportunity after his namesake Junior Brown accidentally played him in one-on-one with Sky Blues goalkeeper Lee Burge who brilliantly turned the effort onto the left post. Brown had another superb chance to score his first career goal a few minutes later when a fine Reds move down the left wing ended with Thiam pulling the ball back from him but he fired wide of the bottom left corner wide ten yards out. 

Kieffer Moore and Dimitri Cavare both blasted over from long-range then Brown shot straight at Burge from 25 yards. Coventry’s Jordan Shipley fired off target from outside the box as the first half fizzled out after a good start.

Burge made another good save early in the second half, tipping over an effort by Thiam from the left of the box before Moore headed a Cavare cross wide. 

Chaplin thought he had put the hosts ahead in the 53rd minute but the linesman’s flag was up for offside as he fired in following good work by Jonson Clarke-Harris and Tom Bayliss following a slip by Dougall deep in his own half. 

Brown missed his third excellent chance of the match on 59 minutes when he fired over from ten yards out after Cavare volleyed in a cross from the right when meeting an excellent crossfield ball by Mowatt.

Moore brought down a long ball and held off a defender but his 20-yard shot was easily saved by Burge diving down to his left. Then Clarke-Harris fired wide after a scramble in the Barnsley box. 

The goal came with ten minutes to play when a left-wing corner was headed on by Dominic Hyam and Junior Brown then captain Willis nodded in on the line. 

Barnsley struggled to reply and had no real chances of an equaliser despite a succession of late corners.  Barnsley team: Davies; Cavare, Lindsay (McGeehan 83mins), Pinnock, Pinillos; Bahre (Moncur 65), Mowatt, Douglas, Thiam, Brown (Adeboyejo 72), Moore. Subs: Walton, Bird, Jackson, B Williams.