Barnsley vs Derby County. Sky Bet Championship.
Oakwell Stadium.
Report and highlights from the goalless Sky Bet Championship clash between Barnsley and Derby County at Oakwell; Barnsley remained in sixth, 10 unbeaten, as Derby climbed to 18th in the Championship standings
Wednesday 10 March 2021 22:59, UK
Wayne Rooney's Derby held Barnsley to a 0-0 draw as Valerien Ismael's side extended their unbeaten run to 10 Sky Bet Championship games.
After picking up a point apiece, Barnsley remained in sixth as Derby climbed to 18th in the Championship standings.
Ismael made two changes from the side who beat Birmingham on Saturday. Conor Chaplin replaced Dominik Frieser and Toby Sibbick was preferred to Michael Sollbauer.
Rooney made five changes from the team who lost to Coventry on the weekend. Craig Forsyth, Lee Gregory, George Edmundson, Kamil Jozwiak and Teden Mengi replaced Lee Buchanan, Martyn Waghorn, Nathan Byrne, Patrick Roberts and Max Bird.
Callum Britain had the first chance of the game. The Reds full-back fired over Kelle Roos' crossbar with a quarter of an hour gone in South Yorkshire.
Cauley Woodrow followed for the hosts. Striking the ball from 20 yards out, the forward could not find the target as he searched for an opener.
Barnsley forward Daryl Dike could only steer his header wide as he latched onto a Brittain cross with the first half drawing to a close.
Colin Kazim-Richards concluded the first half by firing into a wall of Barnsley defenders following a free-kick from 25 yards out.
Barnsley flew out of the blocks after the interval. Chaplin almost steered home as he connected with an Alex Mowatt cross and poked the ball towards goal from point-blank range.
Graeme Shinnie tried to break the deadlock with just under an hour played. The Scot tested Brad Collins for the first time, driving his attempt low into the shot stopper's hands.
Matthew Clarke was next to head wide as he jumped highest from a Shinnie corner on the hour mark.
Kazim-Richards thought he had bagged an assist as he slipped in behind the Barnsley defence before squaring the ball across goal to Gregory, but Collins was able to save.
Rooney's bench were off their seats as Shinnie set his sights at goal from the edge of the area. Bending his effort onto the post, the ball failed to cross the line with 10 minutes left on the clock at Oakwell.
Barnsley boss Valerien Ismael: "It was a difficult game. Sometimes you have to accept the point and deal with it. It was a big surprise to see how Derby County played football. It is a compliment for the guys to see Derby completely changing the way they play.
"You have to fight, control the ball in behind and find a solution against sides like Derby. Tonight, we had to stay calm. We could have won in the second half through Conor Chaplin and we also could have lost twice.
"There was a feeling of more tiredness today. The front three players didn't make their usual impact, but that's sometimes how it is, and we have to accept that.
"It's the Championship and you can't win all of the games. You never know the difference a point could make come the end of the season."
Derby boss Wayne Rooney: "I think that was the only game it was going to be. Barnsley don't play pretty, but their football is effective. Of course, we want to play more football. We thought that the best way to come into the game tonight was to play Barnsley at their own game.
"We picked up second balls and third balls and we tried to be direct. I think Barnsley are possibly the most direct team I've ever seen. I felt that direct football was the best way to play to get something out of the game.
"We tried to pin Barnsley's three centre-backs back. I'm not knocking Barnsley in any way. They are a very difficult team to play against.
"I'm pleased with the players after the last two games. They showed great character tonight."
