Ismael is too clever by half
TYKES BOSS’ BIG SWITCH AT BREAK PROVES A WINNER
VALERIEN ISMAEL is refusing to dream of the Premier League despite seeing his in-form Barnsley side seal a comeback victory over their promotion rivals.
Super sub Carlton Morris climbed off the bench to head the deciding goal 10 minutes from time as the Tykes claimed an eighth win in nine matches.
The triumph cemented Barnsley’s spot in the final play-off place and opened up a five-point cushion on Bournemouth.
But boss Ismael, who made an inspired triple half-time substitution, said: “We are not dreaming of the Premier League.
“Our feet are firmly on the ground and we know there are still 10 games to play and a lot of points to be won.
“We showed big mentality.
“It was a big fight and we made a big step forward.
“We made two idiotic mistakes to concede two goals, especially the second one, but we made some changes at half-time and the bench made a big difference today.”
Barnsley, who have not graced the top flight since 1998, got off to the perfect start when Michal Helik put them in front with only 16 minutes played.
Helik tapped in from closerange after fellow centreback Mads Andersen had nodded Callum Brittain’s corner across the goal. Bournemouth hit back just six minutes later when goalkeeper Asmir Begovic threw the ball 40 yards for
Junior Stanislas to tee up Arnaut Danjuma to fire home at the far post.
The Cherries took a lead their first-half display deserved in stoppage time with Danjuma this time turning supplier for Dominic Solanke to slide in and net from six yards.
It was a different story in the second half as Barnsley dominated and it was all square on the hour mark when Dominik Frieser applied the finishing touch to Cauley Woodrow’s low cross.
Morris won it for the Tykes by climbing above a static Bournemouth defence to send an Alex
Mowatt free-kick looping into the net. Cherries boss Jonathan Woodgate slammed an ‘unacceptable’ second-half display.
Woodgate said: “It was two different Bournemouth teams; one in the first half that wanted to fight and one in the second half that did not want to do it.
“That is not acceptable.” BOURNEMOUTH: Begovic 7; Smith 6 (Stacey, 45, 5), Carter-Vickers 6, S Cook 6, Kelly 6; Stanislas 7, Lerma 6, Pearson 6 (Billing, 65, 5), Danjuma 7; Long 5 (Surridge, 65, 6), Solanke 7. BARNSLEY: Collins 7; Sibbik 6, Helik 7, Andersen 7; Brittain 6, Palmer 5 (Kane 46, 7), Mowatt 5, Williams 5 (Styles 46, 6); Frieser 7 (Dike 67, 6), Woodrow 5, Chaplin 5 (Morris 46, 8). MAN OF THE MATCH: Carlton Morris. Changed the game after coming on at half-time. REFEREE: John Brooks 7.
ITALIAN Adam Masina plunged a dagger into Cardiff late on as he answered his manager’s call to be “a gladiator” in the promotion fight.
It won a match that ended in fury with Cardiff boss Mick McCarthy accusing Watford’s Francisco Sierralta of “cowardice” after a flare-up with Aden Flint.
Watford manager Xisco Munoz had said before the game the only way to cope with McCarthy’s unbeaten centurions was for the Hornets to be warrior-like in the arena.
Masina took the advice to heart with a vicious 94th-minute free-kick that dipped and swerved past a startled Dillon Phillips in the Cardiff goal.
It proved enough to lift Watford back into the automatic promotion places, above Swansea on goal difference, and ended McCarthy’s 11-match
CARDIFF CITY: Phillips 6; Morrison 6, Flint 6, Nelson 5 (Sang 72, 6); Ng 6, Vaulks 6, Ralls 6, Brown 6; Wilson 6 (Bacuna 73, 6); Murphy 7 (Ojo 72, 7), Moore 7.
Bachmann 6; Femenia 6, TroostEkong 7, Sierralta 7, Masina 8; Hughes 7, Chalobah 7 (Sanchez 86), Zinckernagel 7 (Gray 86); Sarr 7, Pedro 8, Sema 7 (Success 77).
MAN OF THE MATCH: Adam Masina. Solid defensive show and enough energy to hit a spectacular winner.
REFEREE: Keith Stroud 6. unbeaten spell since he took charge.
The goal also sparked ugly scenes at the final whistle as players from both sides pushed and shoved, while Cardiff defender Flint had to be pulled back by team-mates after clashing with Sierralta who ran down the tunnel.
McCarthy said: “There was a guy who got booked for fouling Flinty in the box. He just ran and screamed in his face and ran off like a big coward.
“Maybe if you go and push Flinty you should stand up and see the recriminations.
“I’m glad he didn’t! Because Flinty might have boxed him one and he would have had a red card.
“I understand their celebrations, but I do think it’s good to be magnanimous in victory as well.” A Sierralta own goal had given Cardiff the lead but Xisco’s men struck back within a minute to equalise through Nathaniel Chalobah.
It stayed level for another 79 minutes until Ismaila Sarr – a threat throughout – won a freekick wide on the right.
Cardiff lined up a threeman wall and even though Masina’s shot was hit with pace and swerve, Phillips will be unhappy he blotted an otherwise superb display.
Xisco has now lost only three times in 16 league matches and said: “We knew we were playing warriors today.
“The emotion was top on the pitch but now we need calm.
“It is a very important three points from a very important game. We must have humility and our feet must stay on the ground.”