With both Barnsley and Millwall aware that the result of this game wouldn’t really change how their season would end, a took a long time for this game to really get going.  The first-half saw both teams find their possession being bogged down in midfield with and very few meaningful efforts on goal.  Both Danny Haynes and Jason Shackell could have perhaps done better with headers that failed to beat the Lions keeper.  Millwall had several shots on target from outside of the box, however none of these were worthy of beating a professional goalkeeper and Luke Steele made sure he had safe hands after his mistake against Sheffield United a week ago.

Ruben Noble-Lazarus was introduced for the second half and immediately looked comfortable with some encouraging runs and impressive passing that gave a spark to both teams that was missing in the first half.  Noble-Lazarus saw a lot of the ball on the left side of the field but struggled to get out of a Millwall cul-de-sac.  On the hour mark, the Barnsley youngster hit a powerful drive from around 30-yards and found the bottom corner of the net to score his first senior goal in front of the CK Beckett stand.

Noble-Lazarus’ goal proved to be the winner with the remainder of the game providing some good entertainment but no clear-cut chances.  With a highly unusual amount of police officers in full riot gear preparing for the end of the game it wouldn’t have been surprising if this distracted both sets of players, it was certainly a distraction for the fans and seemed a little over the top – the end of season pitch invasion is a fairly harmless tradition.  The police did at least prevent any potential for a clash between the two sets of fans.

The final result means that the Reds have achieved their highest points total since returning to the Championship in 2006, however form in the second half of the season will be a concern for Mark Robins.

Barnsley v Millwall Highlights

Click here to view highlights of the game (Highlights are provided by the BBC and are normally available for around a week after the game has been played)

Match Info

Barnsley: Steele, Hill (McEveley 66), Hassell, Shackell, Foster, Mellis (Noble-Lazarus 45), Butterfield, Doyle, Trippier, Gray, Haynes (O’Brien 90+4).
Unused Subs: Preece, Stones, Clark, Rose.

Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Robinson, Bouazza (Henry 60), Craig, Mkandawire, Ward, Morison, Abdou, Townsend, McQuoid (Marquis 60).
Unused Subs: Harris, Hackett, Smith, Mildenhall, Purse.

Venue: Oakwell, Barnsley
Attendance: 11,136 (849 Millwall)

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