Yeovil Town’s hopes of escaping the relegation zone took a huge dent with a 4-1 home thumping by Barnsley this afternoon.
Goals from Chris O’Grady and Liam Lawrence put the Tykes two up early in the second half and although Luke Ayling pulled a goal back with twenty minutes left, the Glovers collapsed again and O’Grady added his second before Dale Jennings sealed the victory on 78 minutes.
The result deals a major blow to Yeovil’s hopes of staying up and sees them drop to the bottom of the table, three points from safety with 21st placed Charlton Athletic having three games in hand.
Yeovil boss Gary Johnson named an unchanged side to take on Danny Wilson’s bottom side and had appealed for the side’s fans to recreate the atmosphere of last season’s playoff semi final second leg against Sheffield United. The weather did its bit and it was a bright, even warm day that greeted the players as they walked out at 3pm.
The first half was at times an awful spectacle and looked as it was, two sides struggling to remain in the Championship bereft of the spark. The 45 minutes saw three chances for the visitors and just one for the hosts, with Luke Steele saving well from Tom Lawrence after a great passing move involving Joe Edwards and Kevin Dawson.
The Tykes brought Town keeper Marek Stech into action twice but neither save really tested the keeper with the big Czech holding a header from O’Grady and a free kick from Tom Kennedy that went straight down Stech’s throat. Sub Reuben Noble-Lazarus flashed an effort wide of the goal.
The second half couldn’t be any worse and Ishmael Miller headed well wide early on after the interval but disaster was to strike on 53 minutes. Byron Webster’s header back to Stech was well short and O’Grady nipped in to lob Stech and into the net.
Kieffer Moore, injured in a first half challenge and returning to the second half with a head bandage was subbed off after the goal with James Hayter coming on. Liam Lawrence fired a warning shot across the bows with a shot that didn’t really frighten Stech but on 63 minutes, the ex-Sunderland star made it 2-0 when he fired home from 25 yards low into the corner of the net.
Liam Davis had come on for Kevin Dawson on the hour and Davis was creator for the goal that brought Yeovil back into the game on 69 minutes. His left wing cross bypassed Miller in the middle and found Luke Ayling whose accomplished low shot found the corner of the net to make it 2-1.
Yeovil’s hopes of completing a sensational comeback were doused almost straightaway in an almost calamitous five minute spell. First, O’Grady sprang the offside trap before rounding Stech and slotting the ball home. Then, five minutes on, an Edwards slip in the right back position let in Dale Jennings and he cut inside on to his right foot before firing home.
The final ten minutes saw a degree of pressure from Yeovil through Tom Lawrence corners but both Morgan, who shot straight at Steele, and Miller who blazed way over, spurned them. Finally, Tomacz Cywka shot way over as Barnsley pushed for a late fifth.
