[BFC SITE] Reds Suffer Narrow Defeat at Wrexham

Barnsley FC suffered a 1-0 defeat at Wrexham AFC on Tuesday night (3rd December) in Sky Bet League One

It was the Reds who started the brighter in the opening period with a flurry of moves in the final third. As the half progressed, the hosts began to grow into the game, although half an hour into the game neither side had created any chances of note.

The first real highlight of the half came five minutes from the interval with Matty James producing a long range dipping strike that forced Ben Kilip into a fine save. Soon after, the referee brought the first half to an end with the game scoreless.

Half-Time: Wrexham AFC 0-0 Barnsley FC

The second 45 began much more evenly matched than the first, both sides cancelled each other out with solid, compact defending. The first real moments of action in the second 45 came on 65 minutes with Kilip once again preserved his clean sheet, first making a strong save at his near post and seconds later producing an acrobatic stop to deny Elliott Lee.

The first change for the Reds saw Stephen Humphrys make way for Fábio Jaló, the young Portuguese made an instant impact, beating his man on the right wing before laying the ball to Adam Phillips who stung the palms of Mark Howard from outside the box. Soon after, Jaló was once again in the thick of the action, shifting the ball to his right foot and forcing Howard into a fine save.

The Reds once again looked to the bench and introduced Donovan Pines for Georgie Gent. With 10 minutes remaining, the game began to open up with both teams searching for a winner, looking to grab all 3 points, the final changes were made for the Reds with Davis Keillor-Dunn and Corey O’Keefe making way for Kyran Lofthouse and Sam Cosgrove.

With the game still evenly poised, the fourth official added a minimum of five minutes to be played, unfortunately for the Reds, it was Wrexham who grabbed what proved to be a late winner.

Oliver Rathbone produced a tidy finish into the bottom right corner with very little time remaining. The late nature of the goal gave the Reds little time to respond and the game ended in defeat.

Full-Time: Wrexham AFC 1-0 Barnsley FC

Barnsley FC: Killip, Russell, Roberts, de Gevigney, O’Keeffe (Lofthouse, 88'), Phillips, Gent (Pines, 75'), Earl, Keillor-Dunn (Cosgrove, 88'), Humphrys (Jaló, 67'), Connell ©

Subs not used: Smith, Craig, Nwakali

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