<div class="headline" id="ds-headline"><h1>Reds fight back to beat Birmingham </h1></div> <div class="viewarticlepanel"><div class="multiimageoff" id="MainMultiImage"><div id="MainImageDiv">/</div><div id="ThumbDiv"><div class="thumb">/</div><div class="thumb">/</div><div class="thumb">/</div><div class="thumb2">/</div></div> <div id="Navigation"><div class="off" id="PreviousBlock1">« Previous </div><div class="off" id="PreviousBlock1Inactive">« Previous</div><div class="off" id="NextBlock1">Next » </div><div class="off" id="NextBlock1Inactive">Next »</div></div> <div class="off noprint" id="divGalleryLink">View Gallery</div></div></div><div class="byline" id="ds-byline">By Simon Meeks</div><div class="ds-bylinetext" id="ds-bylinetext">Barnsley</div><div class="ds-firstpara" id="ds-firstpara">AFTER slaughter, the comeback, after the football, the wrestling; Say what you like about Barnsley, they just don't do boring. </div><div class="va-bodytext" id="va-bodytext">Who'd have thought, the taken-to-the-cleaners team of Saturday at Ipswich, could take down money-bags Birmingham? Who'd have guessed that the 1-0 to Barnsley would end in a 1-1 red card count after a players, plus staff`plus subs dust up at the end with ref Mike Russell sending Bobby Hassell and Neil Danns to the dressing room after he'd blown the final whistle? You couldn't make it up. Forget that Birmingham had two or three cleared from inside the six yard box, ignore Hassell facing a three match ban, the great Barnsley escape is back on. Hero in the back four was Antony Kay; hero in the last third was Daniel Nardiello, with one of the biggest goals of his Barnsley career. And it was pure Nardiello. What's he doing? you wonder. He's lost it, you curse. It's there, you celebrate. 'The gaffer told me he didn't want me playing up front' Daniel Nardiello Nardiello, who has surely bought himself a ticket for the remaining four matches, recalled: "Paul Heckingbottom played the ball down the side and I was one on one with one of the defenders, Martin Taylor. I just thought I'd have a pop and it went in off the post." The timing was perfect. After a decent first half it gave Barnsley something to fight for. Oh boy, did they fight. Birmingham hit the post through Nicklas Bendtner and saw and brilliant overhead volley from DJ Campbell blocked by Hassell. They were the highlights of a second half that saw the kitchen sink chucked at Barnsley before the pushing and shoving of the after match squabbling. From the kick-off Barnsley's first half was a vast improvement on the form they showed at Ipswich. They were missing injured skipper Paul Reid and had Martin Devaney back in the line-up following his two match ban. Nardiello and Adam Eckersley were recalled. Boss Simon Davey went with a straight 4-4-2 with Devaney and Kyel Reid wide and Sam Togwell and captain for the day Brian Howard in the middle. Nardiello's goal at ipswich helped earn him a rare start. "The gaffer told me before the game he didn't want me playing up front he wanted me just off the front man and helping the midfield. I was up and down really," he explained. "We knew if we got the first goal we've always got a chance." Davey commented: "I've question his workrate at times but Nards has always reacted well for me. He's deserved his started, the way he has trained over the last two weeks has been fantastic. He came on on Saturday and scored a great goal. He deserved to be on that pitch and today he's put a great performance in and he got rewarded at the end." In the opening seconds Nardiello looked business like stinging keeper Colin Doyle's fingers with a snap shot while moments later Istvan Ferenczi ballooned a decent half chance over. Birmingham came back with Rowan Vine a constant danger on the right flank, at first to Eckersley and then Paul Heckingbottom after Eckersley limped off. Cameron Jerome wasted one opening and Fabrice Muamba another before Kyel Reid robbed left back Stephen Kelly. The Barnsley winger on loan from West Ham belted in a dipping shot that just failed to lose height in time <div id="ds-mpu"></div>to bother keeper Doyle. Gary McSheffrey scuffed a fair opportunity from within the area but Barnsley closed out the half on top and unlucky not to score when Nardiello found space on the right wing. The centre was aimed at Devaney who dived in and got a touch before keeper Doyle threw out a hand to save. The ace up Barnsley's sleeve was Nardiello and 10 others who simply refused to be beaten. Said Davey: "I think if we look at the overall 90 minutes. The first 45 minutes, the chances we created, the pressure we put on, deserved the 1-0 victory. "Then in the second half defensively we've been fantastic. "They stuck their bodies in front of things, the goalkeeper has pulled off saves. There've been last ditch tackles from all 11 players." He added: "I've always believed that if these players apply themselves right, they will get the results they deserve. Today they've proved that."</div><div class="ds-modifieddate">Last Updated: 10 April 2007</div>
