THE Reds were held to a goalless draw in Friday night’s South Yorkshire derby against Doncaster Rovers.
Daniel Stendel’s side came out of the blocks well at the Keepmoat Stadium, backed by a sold-out travelling support of 3,700, with Mamadou Thiam going close in the opening minute.
However, it was one-way traffic from that point on in the first half, with Rovers’ Mallik Wilks - who is on loan from Leeds United - giving the Reds considerable issues down the right wing.
An excellent double save from Adam Davies in the fourth minute, when he spurned John Marquis and then Wilks on the rebound, kept the scoreline goalless but it set the tone with Grant McCann’s side looking by far the livelier.
Midfield lynchpin Kenny Dougall went off injured in the 17th minute and was replaced by Zeki Fryers, who combined well with Alex Mowatt, although the ex-Leeds midfielder’s volleyed effort failed to trouble Marko Marosi in the Doncaster goal after 25 minutes.
The Reds, who went into the interval level, were much better in the second half which saw Cauley Woodrow - who did not have a sniff in the opening 45 - come into the game, stinging Donny goalkeeper Marko Marosi’s fingertips with a long-range shot in the 68th minute.
Buoyed on by terrific support, Stendel’s men enjoyed much more possession and Grant McCann’s Doncaster were more than matched in the derby, which saw 11,710 turn up to the Keepmoat.
But the point was a fair result, with Doncaster enjoying the better of the first half and Barnsley being on top after the break.
