[BFC SITE] Spoils shared in Wigan

Barnsley were forced to settle for a point on the road as Wigan Athletic grabbed a late equaliser in a hard-fought encounter at the Brick Community Stadium.


The Reds made a strong start with Marc Roberts clearing an early Wigan attack in just the second minute. The Latics threatened again through Dale Taylor shortly after, but Jonathan Bland made a crucial intervention to deny the hosts an opener inside the opening ten minutes.

Barnsley took the lead in spectacular fashion on eight minutes. Following a foul on Jon Russell 30 yards out, Davis Keillor-Dunn stepped up and curled a stunning free-kick into the top corner.

Flavell was called into action shortly after, producing a brilliant one-on-one save to prevent Taylor from levelling the score. The Reds then showed their attacking intent, with Bland nearly finishing a sweeping move with a volley that sailed over the bar.

Barnsley thought they had doubled their lead on 35 minutes when Conor McCarthy turned home a free-kick delivery, only for the assistant referee’s flag to rule it out for offside. Just before the break, Corey O’Keeffe whipped a dangerous ball to the back post, which Bland came close to meeting. The Reds went into half-time with a deserved one-goal advantage.

Half-time: Wigan Athletic 0-1 Reds

After the restart, Roberts stepped up from defence and found Keillor-Dunn in space, but his driven effort went wide of the target.

Fabio Jalo was replaced by Luca Connell in the 68th minute as Barnsley looked to maintain their lead, but the Latics found a way back into the match in the 77th minute. A mix-up in the Reds’ defence allowed Asamoah Jr to slot home an equaliser.

Stephen Humphrys replaced Max Watters moments later and was immediately involved in the action. The forward appeared to be through on goal in the 84th minute before being pulled down, resulting in a yellow card for the Wigan defender.

With five minutes added at the end of the match, Flavell produced a superb fingertip save from Hungbo to ensure Barnsley came away with at least a point.

FULL-TIME: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Barnsley

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