Brentford 0 – 2 Barnsley
By Red Army
February 15 2021
Barnsley backed up their impressive performance against Chelsea with another terrific performance and fantastic victory at promotion chasing Brentford.
Top scorer Cauley Woodrow was rested for this one after putting in a right shift against Chelsea. A first start was handed to Daryl Dike who had more of an impact in this one than he did against Chelsea.
He was supported up top by Chaplin and Morris who both found the back of the net. Dike and former red Ethan Pinnock combining for Morris to finish nicely in off the post for the reds second.
Brentford last lost on the 24th October and were hot favourites coming in to this one but Barnsley were good value for their win as they started as they left off against Chelsea with the home team unable to live with the reds press.
This high intensity pressing game of Barnsley’s is causing problems for even the best teams. We are giving them no time on the ball to play their game and look dangerous when we win possession.
It all starts from the front three who press relentlessly and when they begin to run out of steam then Ismael has the luxury to change three without really weakening the team now.
Former reds loanee Ivan Toney came in to this one as the top scorer and top of the assist table in the Championship. But he had little joy from Sollbauer, Helik and Andersen.
Helik was my man of the match. I thought he was outstanding and solid throughout. Since he came back in to the team, after being rightfully dropped, he has possibly been our most consistent performer and has even chipped in with a few goals from set pieces.
It was also interesting to see Williams come on at right wing back and Brittain move in to midfield with Kane still on the bench.
Brentford will be sick of the sight of us at their place after our smash and grab winner last season to secure Championship survival and put a severe dent in their promotion hopes.
That day it was Odour with the winner. He seems way down the pecking order under Ismael. Yesterday it would have made more sense to move Styles in to midfield and bring Odour on at left wing back if he didn’t want Williams playing on the wrong side.
However it is clear that he trusts Williams to do the job defensively and he doesn’t have that trust in Odour. Kane should also be worried about falling in to the Odour category.
Not that you can disagree with any decision the manager makes really given the majority of the results we have had under him and our league position.
The games come thick and fast with Blackburn next up on Wednesday in yet another difficult game. We should fear no one in this league to be fair but at the same time we know we need to be on it against everyone and play with the intensity we have in the last couple if we are to get three points in this league.
Three points on Wednesday would really put us in the play-off picture and all but make us safe from the drop.
I expect there might be a bit more rotation on Wednesday particularly in the front three and that will continue throughout the season.
COYR