Match Report Goals after 10 and 47 minutes condemned Swindon Town to an opening day defeat at Oakwell. Paul Hayes and Chris Shuker were the scorers on a day which saw Robbie Williams sent off for the home side, as well as two penalty saves - one for either side. Swindon Town Manager Andy King included five of his seven new summer signings in the line-up for the opening game of the new season, with loanee from Sheffield Wednesday Patrick Collins also included in the side. Town lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with with Ricky Shakes, Gareth Whalley, Michael Pook and Steve Jenkins in the midfield with Tony Thorpe and Jamie Cureton leading the line. For the home side Nick Colgan got the nod for the goalkeepers shirt ahead of Scott Flinders, with former Leeds man Stephen McPhail in the midfield. Town made a solid start with some good possession and were presented an ideal opportunity after just three minutes. A ball was threaded through to Tony Thorpe inside the left hand side of the box but his left foot shot fell into the arms of Colgan from 12-yards on the angle. At the other end Barnsley also wasted no time before going on the offensive. Robbie Williams produced a curling ball into the box but the ball just deceived Nardiello at the back post. Barnsley opened the scoring on 10 minutes just moments after Town should have taken the lead. Nick Colgan made a mess of a simple through ball and the ball was spilled on the edge of the box. Thorpe was on hand to take the ball on but his effort was blocked, with the ball being cleared up front. The long ball seemed to deceive the Town backline who were searching for offside and Paul Hayes got in a foot in whilst the defence were pondering. Hayes saw his right foot effort from the edge of the box loop over Evans and into the back of the net. After the goal Barnsley continued to charge forward, bombarding the box with crosses early on. The best chance fell when Chris Shuker put in a low cross from the right and Daniel Nardiello was on hand to hook the ball just over the bar. Steve Jenkins drove a low shot just wide from the edge of the box on 21 minutes with the home side still in the driving seat. Moments later the home side looked to be set for a two nil lead when Paul Hayes was brought down on the turn inside the box by Sean O'Hanlon. The Town skipper received a booking before Nardiello stepped up to take the spot-kick. The former Manchester United player hit the penalty to the left of Rhys Evans, but the Town number one was equal to the challenge and palmed the ball to safety. Oakwell - The home of Barnsley FC On the half hour mark the high-tempo continued with Daniel Nardiello denied once again with a save from Rhys Evans keeping the lead at 1-0 for the home side. Swindon made no changes at the break but having kicked off the half, wasted no time in extending their advantage. Paul Hayes knocked the ball into the path of Nardiello in the box and the striker held the ball up with his back to goal on the six yard box. Nardiello then threaded the ball through past Jack Smith to Chris Shuker who smashed the ball from the angle past Evans to make it 2-0. Paul Hayes continued from where he left off in the first half with a neat turn on the edge of the area on 54 minutes. His low shot was saved by Evans with Town still trying to get a hold on the game. On 55 minutes a shot from Jamie Cureton inside the area was blocked on the line by Robbie Williams with his hand and the referee immediately reached for his pocket and sent Williams down the tunnel. It was a split second decision with the ball hitting Williams at tremendous pace, but the decision fell Town's way with a penalty awarded. Cureton stepped up for the penalty but Colgan redeemed himself for his earlier handling error with a decent save to deny Swindon's first goal of the season. With just half an hour left on the clock Barnsley Boss Andy Ritchie responded to the red card by replacing Hayes with Nicky Wroe to bolster the Tykes. Andy King appeared on the touchline after 63 minutes and immediately passed instructions onto Gareth Whalley, and Christian Roberts coming on to replace Michael Pook. Jerel Ifil escaped a yellow card with 20 minutes to go with a lunge on Nicky Wroe, with a free-kick awarded on the edge of the box. Stephen McPhail hit a shot against the wall but the rebound also found McPhail who drove a low shot, which was well-saved by Evans. Jamie Cureton got in a good effort from the edge of the box, but couldn't quite get the power behind it with Colgan there once again to save. Nardiello fizzed over a shot from the edge of the box at the other end with Town still trying to open their account for the season with 17 minutes remaining. Steve Jenkins and Christian Roberts were then booked within a few minutes of each other with Tony Leake adding to his tally for the opening day. Jack Smith hit a low shot from the edge of the box with 10 minutes to go with Swindon still trying to break the deadlock. Substitutions were made with just five minutes to go with Ben Wells replacing Steve Jenkins and Barry Conlan replacing Daniel Nardiello. Swindon rallied late on but only had a Christian Roberts blast over the bar with 30 seconds left on the clock to show for their efforts. Tony Thorpe thundered into Jacob Burns needlessly on the touchline and picked up a booking for his efforts in the last minute of three added minutes of time. It summed up a frustrating afternoon for Swindon who now look to Tuesday's home game with Oldham Athletic. Log on tomorrow to read the post-match comments of Manager Andy King. Attendance: 9358 Swindon Town: Rhys Evans, Ricky Shakes, Jerel Ifil, Patrick Collins, Sean O'Hanlon, Jack Smith, Michael Pook, Steve Jenkins, Gareth Whalley, Jamie Cureton, Tony Thorpe Substitutes: Matty Bulman, Nicky Nicolau, Ben Wells, Andy Nicholas, Christian Roberts Barnsley: Nick Colgan, Matt Carbon, Paul Hayes, Stephen McPhail, Neil Austin, Anthony Kay. Chris Shuker, Dale Tonge, Robbie Williams, Daniel Nardiello Substitutes: Scott Flinders, Barry Conlan, Tony Vaughan, Nicky Wroe, Nathan Joynes
Good bit of journalism there! But that's actually an accurate report, for once not incredibly biased!
