When the boisterous rendition of 'Hi Ho Sheffield Wednesday' stops, Barnsley get the game underway and within seconds earn their first corner. Kelvin Etuhu sees his in-swinging corner to the near post easily dealt with and the early pressure subside. On the 4th minute the recalled Gary Madine plays a through ball to strike partner Leroy Lita who duly slots home only to see the linesman's flag raised much to the relief of the travelling Reds' fans. Following another wasted Etuhu corner, a Wednesday break is halted when loanee and debutant Seyi Olofinjana is fouled by Jacob Mellis. Any momentum gained the Owls way is broken when Madine fouls former England U21 defender Martin Cranie. On the 6th minute Luke Steele is forced into his first real action when he claims a Danny Pugh corner and reacts quickly to pick up his fumble in a busy area - the following move culminates in Jim O'Brien being offside. Just 2mins later though the Scotsman shows his eagerness with a right-foot shot from the edge of the box which flies wide. As the away said build the momentum Chris Dagnall fires a shot that's saved by a surprised Kirkland after the ball cuts through the Owls defence. The match turns scrappy shortly after with fouls by O'Brien on Madine, David Perkins on Olofinjana and an offside against former Owls trialist Marlon Harewood. In the 21st minute Reda Johnson has a shot from just inside the box that clears the crossbar and seconds later the Benin international defender fouls Scott Wiseman as Barnsley look to launch an attack, Etuhu's free-kick is dealt with by the home defenders. The 25th minute see's Harewood penalised for handball as he looked to advance at goal and another handball is waved away by the referee when Lita battles past his man and squares the ball, seemingly striking the hand of a Barnsley defender before Llera attempts a shot. Fouls by Etuhu on Jeremy Hélan and then Cranie on Madine sees the fans frustrated and as the half edges towards the break, Miguel Llera gets a fine block in to prevent Dagnall from testing Kirkland before Tom Kennedy produces a pinpoint cross an Harewood misses the target from inside the box. The 43rd minute sees the games first yellow card - Lewis Buxton cautioned for a foul on O'Brien. The half comes to an end following a Bobby Hassell clearance and an Etuhu strike at goal save by Kirkland. .jpg)
HT. The first half was as scrappy as expected, with plenty of momentum breaking fouls and not many shots at goal. A great reception for former Owls defender John Harkes after his 82 appearances in the famous Blue & White whilst the half time entertainment is underway. Following a snack of some Smarties & a Pepsi, the second half gets underway.
Wednesday get the half underway an its not long until Lita is bearing down on goal - only to be stopped by another offside flag. The home side force the first corner of the half but loanee & debutant Stuart Holden's corner is easily dealt with. Similarly, Barnsley's first corner of this half is wasted by Kennedy. When Hélan breaks he chips the ball to Pugh and his nod to Lita sees a Barnsley defender clear fractions before the Swansea loanee can fire at goal. The 52nd minute sees Reda 'the beast from Benin' Johnson have a shot at goal following Llera's cross but Steele stands firm. When Etuhu's shot at goal goes harmlessly wide it provides the break in play for the first substitutions. Reuben Noble-Lazarus replaces O'Brien and for Wednesday, Jermaine Johnson replaces Pugh. As the Reds look to build momentum Dagnall fouls R.Johnson when a promising move was building, but when the Owls fail to capitalise a Noble-Lazarus dangerous cross is dealt with by Anthony Gardner with Harewood poised to strike. The 19yr old substitute looks to make an impact on the hour mark when his viscous shot is fantastically saved by Kirkland to keep the scores level. A minute later and both teams make their second substitutions; Barnsley replace Dagnall with Jason Scotland and Wednesday replace Holden with Giles Coke. Only 2mins after entering the field it's Scotland who almost opens the scoring, with a shot that Kirkland is again equal to. The Owls build from the back and when Buxton is found upfield by a neat J.Johnson turn an pass, his cross is turned into the Barnsley net by Gary Madine - after running his socks off all afternoon the retuning striker gets a deserved opening goal by sliding in to tuck the ball into the bottom corner past a helpless Steele. After lifting his shirt to advertise his friends business the goalscorer is duly booked for the games second yellow card. On the 67th minute Barnsley look to equalise but Noble-Lazarus sees his effort fly skyward and the youngster is disappointed in his effort. Inspired by his goal, Madine looks to score again just moments later - this time finding Steele his equal. The former England U19 keeper is then on hand to collect a Buxton cross as Wednesday build momentum. The match looks to be heading for a scrappy phase again when Olofinjana's foul on Noble-Lazarus is responded with a foul by Cranie on Lita but then J.Johnson finds the ball at his feet. As the Jamaican often does, he embarks on a run that see's him beat 3 Barnsley players before his shot is saved comfortably by Steele. The 74th minute see's another yellow card presented, this time to Cranie for his foul on Coke but Llera's free-kick is claimed by the busy Steele. Not perturbed by his booking, Cranie upends Madine and another Owls free-kick is awarded. This time Llera's free-kick is dropped perfectly onto the head of fan-favourite R.Johnson whose leaping header beats Steele and gives Wednesday a 2-0 lead after 76mins. Whilst the goalscorer receives treatment the Kop bounces whilst chanting 'Reda! Reda!'. The Tykes react by replacing Etuhu with Danny Rose. When Noble-Lazarus sees his shot saved by Kirkland again, the next break in play sees Chris Maguire replace Lita and the fresh striker is quick to chase a through ball - only halted by the flag. On the 83rd minute the former Derby striker looks to whip a cross into the box as the Owls attempt to press the momentum gained and score a third but Hassell blocks well... only for the referee to blow for handball! Penalty! With the confidence on an earlier goal and the prospect of his 50th career goal, Madine steps up and side foots his penalty wide. Barnsley look to spring a counter attack and Llera is penalised for a foul on Rose. After distancing the wall the referee blows for the kick to be taken, but as Scotland strikes at goal Buxton is 3 steps out of the wall having been fooled by David Perkins' dummy and subsequently booked for encroachment - his second yellow of the game swiftly followed by a red card. When Barnsley break in the 92nd minute, the impressive Jacob Mellis plays a quick one-two with Harewood and rifles a low shot past Kirkland and gives the Tykes a lifeline. In a counter-attack Wednesday almost make it 3 when Maguire fires an effort over the bar following a foul by Rose on J.Johnson. As the home team become nervous under pressure, Madine and Hélan are penalised for fouls within quick succession with the latter entering the book on the 95th minute. When jostling for position for the free-kick, Harewood ends the move when he fouls Llera and sees yellow in what becomes the last action of the game and Sheffield Wednesday claim the points and bragging rights of a double over their neighbours.
FT. Not the best derby game but an effective display by the Owls. Karma was restored for the penalty miss but it set up for a nervy finish. Barnsley had some good spells but looked to lack the finishing touch - much like Wednesday. A pretty even derby ends with a valuable 3 points for Dave Jones & his team.
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Owls Man of the Match: Gary Madine (if he plays like this more often he will get the game-time he desires. Chasing down everything, causing defenders worry and of course his goal)
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