Barnsley vs Nottingham Forest. Sky Bet Championship.
Oakwell Stadium.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at Oakwell
Sunday 19 July 2020 18:57, UK
A stoppage-time winner from substitute Patrick Schmidt earned Barnsley a dramatic 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, which keeps their survival hopes alive going into the final game of the season.
It was a spirited performance from the Reds against a Forest side whose play-off place is all but secured.
Barnsley had created a number of good openings before Schmidt struck, threatening inside the opening few minutes when midfielder Alex Mowatt saw a curling effort palmed away by Jordan Smith.
The Forest goalkeeper was soon called into action again, making a good save down low to his left to deny Luke Thomas.
Forest's first chance fell to Lewis Grabban who dragged his shot wide.
Smith made a comfortable save to keep out Marcel Ritzmaier's long-range effort.
Conor Chaplin then looked to capitalise on a mix-up in the Forest defence, but he fired wide from a tight angle.
Barnsley's Callum Styles beat a couple of players before firing in a shot from the edge of the area which went wide of Smith's right-hand post.
There was a let-off for the visitors when Styles just failed to get on the end of a Chaplin cross.
Barnsley were unlucky not to take the lead when Kilian Ludewig's cross picked out Thomas whose first-time effort clipped the top of the crossbar.
Mowatt also went close with a 20-yard shot after being set up by Styles.
Forest also had a chance to force the breakthrough goal in the latter stages of the half when Tiago Silva's low cross was met by Nuno Da Costa who flicked the ball goalwards, but keeper Jack Walton managed to get down smartly and keep it
out.
Jacob Brown was put through by Chaplin just before the break, but he struggled to get the ball under control and that allowed Smith to clear the danger.
Barnsley head coach Gerhard Struber sent on 15-goal striker Cauley Woodrow in place of Ludewig at the start of the second half.
And Woodrow was soon involved in the action, firing in a shot which was deflected wide.
Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi made a double substitution 10 minutes after the restart, with Sammy Ameobi and Ryan Yates taking over from Costa and Silva.
Barnsley went close when Ritzmaier's deflected long-range effort struck a post and Jordan Williams then tried his luck from distance, with the ball clearing the bar.
They threatened again when an effort from substitute Matty Wolfe was cleared off the line by Joe Worrall.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, a third Barnsley substitute was introduced as Schmidt replaced Ritzmaier.
The home side threw men forward in the closing stages and Schmidt snatched the winner deep into stoppage time, firing into the net following a scramble inside the area.
Barnsley's Gerhard Struber: "It was a special moment. It was a big effort today to create chances and I think we deserved the victory. My boys from the first second to the last second had control of the game. We never gave up and believed until the last second that we can score. Everyone had the right mindset.
"In the end it was a big magic moment for everyone, including Patrick who scored the goal. The last few weeks Patrick has not had so much game time but I trust him 100 per cent. I think he's a very important player for the team.
"We know that Brentford is a massive opponent and we have a big respect for them, but we are ready for a big fight. My boys are very happy and I am very proud of them. It is great for their confidence going into the Brentford game."
Nottingham Forest's Sabri Lamouchi: "Congratulations to Barnsley because they played much better than us. The desire of Barnsley players was important and they deserved to win because they want this win more than us. They run more, they fight more, they win the duels and in football, if you don't win the duels and if you don't run, it's difficult.
"The spirit in the dressing room was absolutely terrible but my job is to talk with them honestly. The manager needs to take the responsibility and this is my responsibility. If we want to play in the play-offs, it is in our hands. One point against
Stoke and we will play in the play-offs. We need to recover, have a good rest and on Wednesday play a clever game."
