Rob Davies
Swansea City had Olivier Ntcham to thank as his substitute appearance earned the Swans a draw after a below par display at the Swansea.com Stadium this afternoon.
The Swans had plenty of possession as always but struggled in the first half to create anything bar a scuffed Michael Obafemi chance against a stubborn Barnsley side battling relegation.
Indeed Russell Martin’s men were lucky not to be two goals down after Claudio Gomes’ opener when Joel Latibeaudiere flicked the ball against the far post before Ntcham leveled very soon after.
Martin kept faith with the team that beat Derby County last weekend in a bid to make it four wins on the bounce for the first time in two and a half years.
Barnsley meanwhile had to throw the kitchen sink in a bid to win with the gap to Reading in 21st place widening rather than narrowing.
Swans line-up:
Fisher
Cabango – Naughton – Latibeaudiere
Christie – Fulton – Grimes – Wolf
Piroe – Obafemi – Paterson
it was very clear from early that this game would not be the frenetic start that saw the Swans two up against Derby County within twenty minutes.
Jamie Paterson and Cyrus Christie in particular looked tired already as did much of the team and Jay Fulton saw a few passes go astray in a half littered with Barnsley fouls to prevent any momentum building.
Barnsley were clearly trying their best to carve open opportunities and the wings were a good source of creativity for them with Amine Bassi and Gomes particularly lively. A few balls across the box were not dealt with and a header at the far post from a corner looked to have broken the deadlock before the interval only for it to trickle past and away to safety.
The Swans only had Obafemi’s scuffed effort after good work from Jamie Paterson down the left to go down as a chance in a muted first half although the clearest opportunity came when a three on two break ended with Paterson being snuffed out with players screaming for the pass.
No changes at half time for either side and Barnsley looked to take the game to the home team which the surely did after a swift counter attack initially down the left.
The ball ended with Bassi in the centre with men over for the Tykes; one of those was Gomes who was found and finished calmly with the help of a hand from Andy Fisher.
Latibeaudiere was more than fortunate when he clumsily stuck out a foot to deflect a cross only to see it bounce towards goal and luckily off the post, 2-0 would surely have been game over.
That saw some frustration boiling over from the stands with the East Stand screaming for the manager and team to “sort it out” – they soon got their wish when Ntcham struck.
Christie made his way down the right and some good interplay found the Frenchman who took a touch and curled into the top corner to make it 1-1.
The intensity increased significantly thereafter with the Swans searching for an elusive winner to take them closer to the play-offs and the quiet Joel Piroe had an opportunity in front of goal until he was seemingly fouled.
Much like the rest of the season no penalty was awarded and Wolf also saw a cross strike a hand but the referee saw no issue as he did for a few wayward challenges and dissent from Barnsley players.
Both sides had chances to take the win with Cauley Woodrow fired wide and Piroe headed agonisingly wide in stoppage time in what turned out to be a point that helps no one.
The display was largely tired and lacklustre and despite some good pressure in the second half there was never enough to say the Swans deserved the win; similar for Barnsley also who are now surely staring down the barrel at relegation and League One next season.
Swansea actually move slightly closer by a point to the play-off places (7 with 5 to go and still a game in hand) but one would imagine it’s a step too far. It was nice to dream for a little while at least…
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