Reds through to third round after six-goal thriller

Kieffer Moore put the visitors ahead late in a first half which they dominated but then he scored an own goal before the break.  Cauley Woodrow netted twice to make it 3-1 but Southend pulled one back then had a 90th-minute goal ruled out to the anger of the home fans and staff. Mike Bahre scored his first Reds goal deep in injury-time to send his club through to the third round in early January. 

Daniel Stendel made three changes from the League One loss at Sunderland on Tuesday. Dimitri Cavare, who will be suspended for the next league match, was replaced by Jacob Brown at right-back with George Moncur and Mike Bahre coming in for Brad Potts and Mamadou Thiam to play on the wings. 

After the first quarter of the match saw some decent football played without any real chances, Moncur played Kieffer Moore through on goal and his shot was cleared off the line by Stephen Hendrie. Home goalkeeper Mark Oxley then easily caught long-range shots from Cauley Woodrow and George Moncur, with the latter coming after one of several excellent Barnsley moves which had Bahre at the heart of them. 

Woodrow then forced Oxley into a far better save as he had to dive to his left to claw another long-range shot out of his bottom corner. From the resulting Alex Mowatt corner, Moore headed in from close range after 41 minutes to notch his 13th of the season. 

The hosts levelled in first half injury-time after Timothee Dieng brilliantly won a corner by knocking the ball off a defender’s legs while looking the other way. Sam Mantom’s low left-wing corner seemed to go in off Moore which meant Southend were level at the break despite not having a shot on target. 

Dieng thought he had put his side ahead early in the second half with a tap-in after his initial shot was saved by Adam Davies, but the officials ruled it out for offside. 

It was Barnsley who went 2-1 up when Oxley dropped Mowatt’s corner at his near post and the ball ended in the back of the net with Woodrow claiming it. Woodrow definitely scored the third as he diverted in a Bahre shot after yet again corner from the right wing to make it 3-1 on 70 minutes.

Barnsley looked likely to get another from a counter-attack, with Moore curled wide from the edge of the box. But it was Southend, after they made a triple substitution at 3-1, who pulled one back when Dieng headed in Stephen McLaughlin’s left-wing corner in the 84th minute. 

There were real drama in the 90th minute when Harry Bunn had a header saved by Davies but Michael Turner fired in, only for the linesman’s flag to be raised for an apparent handball while there was also calls for offside. 

It was 4-2 in the fifth minute of injury-time as substitute Brad Potts led a counter-attack then Moncur’s shot was saved by Oxley only for Bahre to smash in the rebound. Potts should have made it 5-2 in the 97th minute but tapped wide from a right-wing Bahre cross. 

Southend: Oxley; Bwomono, White, Turner. Hendrie; McLaughlin, Mantom, Yearwood (McCoulsky 76mins), Dieng, Kightly (Bunn 76); Cox (Robinson 76). Subs: Bishop, Moore, Hyam, Bunn, Hutchinson.  Goals: Moore OG 45+4, Dieng 84.  Barnsley: Davies; Brown, Pinnock, Lindsay, Fryers (Pinillos 68mins); Moncur, Mowatt, McGeehan, Bahre,; Moore (Potts 81), Woodrow (Adeboyejo 90+1). Subs: Greatorex, Cavare, Jackson, Thiam.  Yellow cards; Fryers. Goals: 41, Woodrow 56, 70, Bahre 90+5.