Barnsley suffered a 2-1 Yorkshire derby loss to Paul Heckingbottom’s Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday.
The Reds fell behind but levelled through an own goal late in the first half only to concede another just after the break and then could not find an equaliser thanks mainly to a miss of the season contender from substitute Kieffer Moore.
Barnsley remain 22nd, two points from safety because Bolton Wanderers lost 4-0 to leaders Wolves. Birmingham City moved further away from the Reds with a win over Sheffield United but the Oakwell club could still move out of the relegation zone with a victory at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday. Burton Albion won at Sunderland, who are relegated, and are now level on points with Barnsley.
The visiting players and fans were motivated by a game against their former head coach Heckingbottom who left Barnsley for Leeds in February but it was a subdued game with few chances and very little quality. Heckingbottom’s replacement Morais made three changes from the side which drew with Bolton a week earlier. Injured centre-back Adam Jackson was replaced by Matt Mills while Moore and George Moncur were dropped to the bench with Tom Bradshaw and Connor Mahoney coming into the starting line-up.
It was Mills and Bradshaw’s first start in ten games since Morais’ first match while January loan signing Mahoney had never started for the club before. He is a winger but started in attacking midfield in a 4-5-1 with Oliver McBurnie on the left and Adam Hammill on the right.
Mills almost gifted Leeds the lead in the third minute when he lost the ball on the edge of his box to Ezgjan Alioski who went through on goal but fired wide. Kalvin Phillips then headed over the bar from a left-wing cross.
The hosts eventually took the lead after 17 minutes when left-back Tom Pearce picked up a loose ball near the halfway line and ran to the edge of the Reds box where he was able to fire into the bottom right corner.
Barnsley responded well to the goal, with home goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell having to claw out a Hammill cross which almost snuck in then saving a Brad Potts shot which was straight at him.
Peacock-Farrell was eventually beaten by one of his own defenders as Paudie O’Connor sliced a Zeki Fryers cross into his own net from close range on 36 minutes.
Mahoney moved out to his natural position on the right wing with Hammill taking up more of a central role. Mahoney almost put the visitors ahead in first half injury-time with a shot from 12 yards out after coming in from the wing, but Peacock-Farrell produced an excellent save diving to his right to turn it wide.
Leeds took the lead five minutes after the interval when Mills allowed Kemar Roofe to run onto a long ball down the left wing far too easily then he powered into the box and squared to Ezgjan Alioski who tapped in from a few yards out.
Barnsley thought they had levelled almost instantly when McBurnie tapped in after good work by Andy Yiadom and Mahoney but the linesman’s flag went up for offside. Morais said later it was the right decision.
Very little happened in the remainder of the match as Leeds seemed content with a 2-1 lead while Barnsley struggled to break their hosts down, even after the introduction of Moore and Moncur for Bradshaw and Mahoney.
Potts fired a deflected shot into the goalkeeper’s arms from another low Fryers cross then Moore produced an incredible miss, firing a low right-wing Hammill cross back across goal from two yards out. Hammill was booked for a dive in the box but Morais said later that it should have been a penalty.
