Town faced injury time woe in South Yorkshire for the second time in five days as former Blues loanee Jon Macken’s goal gave Barnsley a 2-1 victory at Oakwell. The Tykes had gone ahead in the first half through Iain Hume, who later smashed a penalty against the bar, Liam Rosenior equalising for the Blues before the break.

Roy Keane named an unchanged side from Tuesday’s 3-3 draw at Sheffield United and the same seven on the bench. Chief executive Simon Clegg joined the Town support in the stand as the game started in windy conditions.

Gareth McAuley managed the game’s first shot, hitting an effort through to ex-Town loanee Bartosz Bialkowski, who joined the Tykes on a short-term deal earlier in the week.

Barnsley went ahead with their first shot of the game. Iian Hume found himself some space on the edge of the area and hit a low strike to Richard Wright’s right. The Town keeper got a hand to it, but failed to stop the ball hitting the net.

Carlos Edwards looked to get the Blues back on terms almost immediately with a shot which flew wide from 30 yards, then Jaime Peters went narrowly over from slightly closer in.

Ryan Shotton hit a shot through to Richard Wright on 16 with the home side having adjusted to the conditions better than Town. On 19 Smith followed a freekick in and forced the hesitant Bialkowski to save at point blank range with a header, referee Gibbs inexplicably awarding the home side a freekick.

The Blues started to take control of the game in the final quarter of an hour of the half. Tamás Priskin played a cross behind Jon Walters but ahead of Alan Quinn, whose shot was blocked. Smith headed wide from the last of a number of subsequent corners.

On 37 Priskin flicked the ball into Walters’s path on the left, the former Chester man crossing to his new strike partner, who headed straight to Bialkowski.

Liam Rosenior’s clearance fell to Jon Macken in the 41st minute, but the Barnsley striker shot over.

There was controversy a minute later when Priskin caught Bialkowski as the pair went for a Trotter knockdown. Barnsley defender Darren Moore was clearly incensed by the challenge and stamped on the grounded Town striker. Players of both sides got involved before calm was restored and Priskin was booked, as was Moore, who could count himself very lucky to stay on the pitch.

Trotter headed over from an Edwards corner after Leadbitter’s flick as the Blues continued to press for an equaliser.

Just before the break, the goal came. Leadbitter hammered a wind-assisted freekick goalwards, Bialkowski doing well to get anything in the way of the ball but couldn’t hold on. Liam Rosenior reacted quickest to nod in his first Town goal. In first half injury time, Carlos Edwards’s half-volley flew just over the bar.

Town had started slowly, but by the break were on top and deserved their equaliser. The Barnsley goal was a poor one to concede and there had been one or two other dodgy moments at the back, although the windy conditions were always like to cause defensive errors.

Four minutes into the second half, the already booked Priskin was given a stiff talking to by referee Phil Gibbs for a foul on Stephen Foster with the home fans calling for a second yellow card, although the defender appeared to be making a lot of little if any contact.

Alan Quinn headed what seemed to be a goalbound Barnsley corner from under the bar, then Macken missed a golden opportunity to put his side back in front, somehow scrambling the ball wide from four yards from a long throw with several Town defenders appearing to have left the ball having heard a call from behind them.

Just before the hour, Edwards shot wide after being played in on the right of the area by Priskin, the Hungarian making way soon after for Pablo Couñago.

Walters shot straight at Bialkowski, then the stand-in skipper cut the ball back to the edge of the area for Trotter, who shot just over when he should have hit the target.

Adam Hammill hit a freekick wide off Trotter in the 70th minute, then from the resultant corner Rosenior inadvertently diverted the ball out of play at the back post.

On 73 referee Gibbs awarded the home side a hugely generous penalty after Hume tripped over a grounded Smith inside the area. Grant Leadbitter led the Town protests and was booked as a result. Hume took the kick himself, pausing halfway through his run-up and lashing the ball against the bar. Macken failed to get in a rebound.

Jon Stead replaced Carlos Edward for the final 15 minutes with Walters moving wide. On 80 Quinn shot wide from the edge of the area.

Nathan Doyle went wide for the home side a minute later and injured himself in doing so, then Lee Martin replaced Quinn on the left of midfield.

As the game moved into injury time, Town came close to Pablo Couñago, Bialkowski blocking his effort on the line with his foot.

Jaime Peters was booked for a foul on Hume, Richard Wright dropping and then claiming the ball played into the box from the freekick.

The game was appearing to be petering out into a draw when Town failed to clear a Barnsley freekick sent in from the right and the ball fell to Macken, who lashed home from eight yards.

At the whistle both the Town players and fans appeared stunned, Gareth McAuley and others were left standing still on the pitch, while some supporters remained in their seats.

A draw would probably have been a fair result after a largely scrappy game which had seen unsteady defending from both sides throughout. The windy conditions played their part, particularly on the long throws which had been employed by both teams.

Town, who were rarely as good as they had been at Bramall Lane on Tuesday, enjoyed their best spell in the 15 minutes before the break when they might have grabbed more than the one goal. The Blues probably had the better of the second half without forcing Bialkowski into too many saves and Trotter and Edwards might have done better with their chances.

Roy Keane’s men had the worst of referee Gibbs’s poorest decisions with Darren Moore extremely lucky not to see red in the first half, while the penalty was ludicrous.

The last gasp defeat came as a massive blow after the shock of the similar goal at Sheffield United in the week, but the Blues continue to defend suicidally even if they have improved significantly going forward in recent games.

Town, still bottom of the table, now have to wait a fortnight for their next chance to grab their first win of the season when Swansea visit Portman Road.

Town: R Wright, Rosenior, Peters, McAuley, Smith, Leadbitter, Trotter, Quinn (Martin 84), Edwards (Stead 75), Walters, Priskin (Couñago 59). Unused: Lee-Barrett, Colback, D Wright, Balkestein. Att: 12,224.

Photo: Action Images

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