BARNSLEY were held to a frustrating goalless draw with AFC Wimbledon in their third match of the League One campaign.

After registering a 4-0 win at Oakwell over Oxford on the opening day, which was followed by a 2-0 success in a Yorkshire derby away at Bradford, Daniel Stendel's side struggled to break through AFC Wimbledon's resilient defence.

Having both come into the fixture with perfect defensive records, the 11,610 fans inside Oakwell will be left with frustrating recollections of a game which had little in the way of clear-cut chances.

Both goalkeepers - Adam Davies for the Reds and Tom King for their opponents - failed to be tested and both defences maintained their status as the best in the league so far.

In a lacklustre first half, which Barnsley controlled the majority with large spells of possession, Alex Mowatt came closest to breaking the deadlock with a searching effort which went wide of King's nearpost on the stroke of half-time.

Mamadou Thiam, who has started the season brightly, continued his rich vein of form and caused trouble from the off with jinking runs from the left wing.

The second half opened up somewhat and Neal Ardley's side - who will be a tough nut to crack for many teams in the division - matched the Reds toe-to-toe.

Kwesi Appiah, the leading light in the away side's front line, had the ball in the back of the net only for it to be ruled out by referee Martin Coy, whose somewhat dubious decisions left both sets of fans scratching their heads at times.

Both teams threatened, but neither could find a creative spark. George Moncur's arrival for the Reds offered glimmers although each run, pass and lob forward failed to reap the intended reward.

A fair result, most would agree, after an uninspiring display from both teams.