* Tonight`s Play-Offs [B`mth v Bees / Tykes v Swans] Match Thread. *
- Thread starter r00fie1
- Start date
That's not how it reads following it in the Guardian's minute by minute reports. I'll have to activate another source somehow.It’s a decent game . Chances both ends and it’s pleasant to actually see two teams attack with unity and flair towards goal . Blimey I’ve forgotten how it looks
Borobarmy
Well-known member
It’s not worth forgetting they only have to get through this game ( with Bournemouth fans at the referee ) and get back to their own and vice versa . Bournemouth huffed and puffed and missed decent chance and Brentford made a great save . This game is erring towards Bmouth but The tie looks Brentford’s ( to me )
ps Bmouth lost captain as well
ps Bmouth lost captain as well
Borobarmy
Well-known member
Maybe it’s because 2 attacks is 2 more than I’m used to - thus flair
SmallTown
Well-known member
I used to live in the same apartment building as him. I imagine his place was a lot bigger!
That's the reason I like Brentford though. They are a real community club. a lot of the players still live in the borough. It seems really old school in this day of millionaires behind their mock tudor mansions in Cheshire to see the players out and about so much.
Borobuddah
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1 is never enough
bear66
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1 away goal will be . . . if Brentford get it
r00fie1
Well-known member
Barnsley vs Swansea live stream, predictions & team news | Championship play-offs
By Ben Green
Published: 14:38, 17 May 2021
The Championship play-offs kickstart on Monday night, with Barnsley hosting Swansea in the first leg of their semi-final tie at 8.15pm (UK time).
Swansea have sealed a play-off position for the second season in a row and will be hoping to progress past the semis this time around, while Barnsley have been the surprise package this campaign, earning a fifth-placed finish against all expectations.
Scoreline prediction: Barnsley 0-1 Swansea
Published: 14:38, 17 May 2021
Swansea have sealed a play-off position for the second season in a row and will be hoping to progress past the semis this time around, while Barnsley have been the surprise package this campaign, earning a fifth-placed finish against all expectations.
Scoreline prediction: Barnsley 0-1 Swansea
Barnsley vs Swansea build-up, previous line-ups & injury news:
To think that Barnsley avoided relegation to League One last season by the skin of their teeth, finishing 21st and only a point above the drop zone, serves well to illuminate the incredible work Valerien Ismael has done at Oakwell, with his side going against the grain and earning a ticket at the promotion raffle.Swansea meanwhile are habitual play-off contenders, famously sealing promotion in 2010/11 via the Wembley route under Brendan Rodgers, and reaching the semis last term, though Steve Cooper’s men came up short in the penultimate round and will be hoping to avoid history repeating itself here.
- Barnsley (vs Norwich): Collins; Sibbick, Helik, Andersen; Brittain, Palmer, Moon, Styles; Chaplin, Morris, Woodrow.
- Swansea (vs Watford): Woodman; Roberts, Bennett, Guehi, Bidwell; Fulton, Grimes, Hourihane; Ayew, Lowe, Cullen.
Valerien Ismael: From Bayern to Barnsley
The work produced by Valerien Ismael has been nothing short of miraculous at Oakwell, taking Barnsley from relegation fodder to promotion hopefuls in the space of a season is the stuff of legend, and if he were to go a step further, it may go down as one of the Championship’s most unexpected top-flight jumps ever.The Frenchman certainly knows how to handle the big occasion and will not be put off by the prospect of playing at a venue as cavernous as Wembley, but first all eyes will be on South Wales. A two-time Bundesliga winner with both Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich, Ismael certainly comes with playing-career pedigree and will be imparting his knowledge and experience on those Barnsley players.
The Tykes naturally come into this contest as firm outsiders, but Ismael is relishing the contest and remains confident of ‘crashing the party’. “The good thing is we can go into the game without pressure and it will maybe be the first and the last time that Barnsley can go into a game without pressure,” he told Sky Sports.
“We have a big desire to continue. We are really focused, we want to continue our story, to push our limits and we are more ready now than for the first games against Swansea.
“We are the underdogs. I think it’s clear if you see the players in the other squads – the other squads have to be in the play-offs or maybe straight into the Premier League. We are not expected to be in the play-offs, we just crashed the party.”
Alex Mowatt: Leeds’ 2014/15 Player of the Year aiming to join boyhood club in the big time
The Leeds United talent factory has produced some of the country’s most elite players over the years, with the likes of James Milner, Aaron Lennon, Danny Rose and Fabian Delph progressing at Elland Road since the turn of the century, while Kalvin Phillips is the current poster boy.One player who looked destined to follow in those footsteps and become a Premier League regular was Alex Mowatt, who enjoyed a breakthrough 2013/14 season and soon cemented a regular berth in the starting XI, culminating in him receiving the ‘Leeds United Player of the Year’ award for 2014/15.
However, the versatile midfielder’s form soon dipped and he was unable to recapture that halcyon season, subsequently relocating to South Yorkshire with Barnsley where, after a few teething issues at the start, he has exploded to life and is now the attacking fulcrum of Ismael’s side.
An unconventional strikeforce
Barnsley’s two top scorers this season could not be further apart in terms of their journeys to Oakwell. Cauley Woodrow, once of Fulham, and a Toulon Tournament winner with England U21 in 2016, has netted double digits for the second season running (12), while Daryl Dike, on loan from Major League Soccer side Orlando City is a two-time United States international and a precocious centre-forward who bases his game off Didier Drogba.At 20, Dike has taken to English football like a duck to water, netting nine goals in just 19 Championship games, giving Barnsley the adrenaline shot they needed in January to maintain their purple patch and consolidate a position in the Championship play-offs.
Alongside Woodrow, Barnsley have one of the division’s most unconventional strike forces and with Mowatt playing in the hole further back, the club have a release valve capable of unlocking defences and picking a pass, which will certainly be giving the Swansea defenders plenty of food for thought.
Zoophonic
Well-known member
The area around Kew Bridge isnt exactly terraced houses in Redcar.
r00fie1
Well-known member
Mowatt ready for Hourihane battle
Alex Mowatt is relishing the prospect of a midfield battle against his predecessor as Barnsley captain Conor Hourihane w... Local News Barnsley South Yorkshire
www.barnsleychronicle.com
Alex Mowatt is relishing the prospect of a midfield battle against his predecessor as Barnsley captain Conor Hourihane when the Reds host Swansea City in the first leg of the Championship play-offs on Monday evening.
Mowatt was signed in January 2017, days after Hourihane was sold to Aston Villa having led Barnsley to promotion from League One the previous season.
Mowatt was sent off on his debut then loaned out to Oxford United but, in the last three seasons, has been one of the Reds key players.
Mowatt said: "I didn’t really feel the pressure to replace him at all. I was so young and my head was somewhere else. It’s only since I came back from my loan at Oxford that I have been fully concentrated on football and then I’ve had the best years of my career.
"He’s gone on to have an unbelievable career. I watched him play in the Premier League. His left foot is a joke. I don’t think we’re that similar apart from being both left-footed and not very quick. But it will be a good challenge against quality players like him.”
Mowatt admits playing in front of 4,500 Barnsley fans will be odd after 62 games behind closed-doors.
He told the Chronicle: "I think for everyone it will be a little bit strange to have fans in the ground. It’s been the norm not to have them for so long. But it’s great to have them back and it's good to start in front of our home fans. Hopefully they get behind us."
He added: "It’s a massive boost. It’s a shame they couldn’t be with us all season to celebrate this great season. We want to put on a show for the lucky ones who got tickets and those who are watching at home.”
Mowatt missed the final game of the league season against Norwich City with a minor groin problem but is expected to start on Monday.
"I wanted to play against Norwich but the physios and gaffer didn’t want me to play, and it was probably the right decision.”
He is delighted to be back as captain for one of the biggest games in the club’s recent history.
"It’s a massive game and leading the lads out will be great.
"We’ve put ourselves in an unbelievable position but we don’t want to stop here.
"I don’t think teams will like to play us. The three other teams in the play-offs like to play football and we can be horrible to play against.
"If you told me at the start of the season that we would be in the play-offs, I wouldn’t have believed you. You have to pinch yourself. But we have been on some great runs and deserve to be there.”
Cardiffdaffs
Well-known member
Bournemouth keeping a clean sheet may prove crucial. Repeat their result at Brentford earlier in the season and they are through.