BY JODI KEEN
Ahead of this Saturday’s early kick off, The terriers came off the back of a one nil loss to league leaders Birmingham City who took a 1-0 victory over the West Yorkshire side last weekend at St Andrews. However Barnsley, who sit in 7th compared to Huddersfield’s 15th position, have enjoyed an unexpected start to the season picking up 4 wins, 3 draws and only 2 losses in their opening nine as they hope to push for those all important playoff places come end of the season.
Barnsley sold out all of their away allocation for the fixture with 2,336 tickets snapped up ready for their reunion with former manager Michael Duff, who took charge of the terriers in May this year following their relegation from the championship. Before the game Duff said ‘I know football has a habit of coming back and biting you, particularly at this level’ as the terriers suffered four successive league defeats of late. Duff was at the helm of Barnsley in the 22/23 season even leading them to the league one playoff final where they lost to Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 under the Wembley arch. Today’s fixture brought a somewhat fond reunion for the home manager but maybe not so much for the travelling fans who were sure to make their opinions clear from the terrances.
On the other side of the dugout, Darrell Clarke is another new face this campaign with him making the switch to Barnsley from relegated Cheltenham town, who he couldn’t quite keep in the third division last year. He did pick up EFL League one manager of the month with the relegated team in October 2023 but failed to help them retain third division status. He makes his first visit with Barnsley to the John Smith’s Stadium with his team in fine form and ready to make their mark in West Yorkshire.
The game had a lively start as both teams battled ferociously for possession with the away team fueled by the travelling fans’ support who were in superb spirit cheering on their club from their allocated end. It was clear Barnsley were dictating the play as they looked the more composed side having had the more comfortable start to the season. You could tell the terriers were eager to get points on the board with scrappy challenges and rushed counter attacks from Michael Duff’s side. Every ball forward for Huddersfield was dealt with well by the Tyke’s defence with captain Luca Connell drawing back from midfield to destabilise attacks from blue and white shirts. Georgie Gent also made it apparent why Barnsley boss Clarke had brought him into the starting eleven. With his quick feet and tactical ability, Gent effortlessly weaved the ball through the home side’s midfield in only his fourth appearance for the away team at 21 years old.
The best chance of the game so far came from Lasse Sørensen for Huddersfield as he worked the ball around the Barnsley defence taking aim but the shot narrowly drifted wide. Huddersfield continued to pile on the pressure from set pieces with the ball flying out to the edge of the box landing at the feet of holding midfielder David Kasumu who had a great shot from range and was narrowly tipped off the crossbar by Jacob Chapman between the sticks. With just one minute additional time, the half ended all square with Huddersfield town growing more and more hungry for that first goal but Barnsley were still very much comfortable in their game plan.
Half Time: Huddersfield Town 0-0 Barnsley
Barnsley seemed to have lost their spark in the second half, lacking the urgency to go forward they displayed in the opening ten minutes of the match. With Barnsley giving away passes to their opposition, This allowed Huddersfield to slowly regain confidence and grow back into the game with increased bravery to venture forward. The blue and white were rightfully rewarded as forward Bojan Radulović found himself with the ball in the opposition box and attempted to dink it over Chelsea loanee Gabriel Slonina. However the crossbar did the away side a much needed favour and kept the scoreline even.
Huddersfield continued to pile on the pressure, with them trying their hand at multiple set pieces and flourishing in the box but struggling to create that end product. To combat Huddersfield’s advances, Barnsley replaced Gent, Cotter and Humphrys with Benson, O’Keeffe and Jaló in the hopes that fresh legs would bolster the away side’s attack.
The substitutions came for Huddersfieled in the 70th minute, Joe Hodge made way for Herbie Kane after struggling to continue with a slight knock gained in the opposition box with Bojan Radulović’s game up front over to bring on Freddie Ladapo.
Following some good chances, Barnsley allowed Davis Keillor-Dunn to leave the midfield for Kyran Lofthouse to keep up the spell of good moments nearing the 80th minute. The addition of winger Jaló for Barnsley helped to light up the Tyke’s attacks as he sped down the right hand side of the pitch with ease, giving Huddersfield their first real test of pace. 
After a relentless pursuit of goal from the home side, Town midfielder Ben Wiles found himself free in the Barnsley box in the 83rd minute and with quick feet took an impressive strike from a central position and finally broke the deadlock. By burying the ball in the back of the net, there was nothing opposition keeper Gabriel Slonina could have done to prevent a goal of that tenacity.
The fourth official indicated 5 minutes of additional time and at the death of the game David Kusumu took great aim and added himself to the scoresheet. This was another brilliant strike from range; opening the trigger on Slonina again. The referee’s whistle blew and it was party time for the 19,423 in attendance at the John Smith’s stadium as Michael Duff’s side picked up their first win since the 14th of September over his former club.
However, The two sides will meet again on Tuesday night in the Football league trophy therefore Clarke’s side will have a chance at redemption. An opportunity for the tykes to right the wrongs of Saturday’s match and advance in one of this season’s cup competitions.
Full Time: Huddersfield Town 2-0 Barnsley
