Lee’s not ready to declare at Barnsley
BARNSLEY boss Lee Johnson vowed to ‘bat on’ as his side collapsed to a sixth successive defeat at Scunthorpe United.
First-half goals from Tom Hopper and Gary McSheffrey condemned the Tykes to another morale-sapping loss in which Sam Winnall missed a penalty to compound the visitors’ misery.
Johnson, whose side remain in the bottom four, stressed he is up for the challenge but he admits the ultimate decision does not rest with him.
“I hope I get the opportunity to turn things around. I’m up for it, there’s no doubt about that. I’ve never quit anything,” he said.
“We’ve got to knuckle down and bat on, as they say. But it can change and I genuinely thought we were going to change it, particularly with the way we started the game.
“If you miss a penalty and concede two goals like we did, it’s always going to be difficult.
“I could go over the individual errors we’ve made for the past ten games – there have been far too many.
“I try to protect my players but if it’s a sloppy goal we’ve conceded, like we have been, it’s difficult to train that thought.”
Barnsley had started brightly at Glanford Park, but Scunthorpe’s opener, which came in the sixth minute, against the run of play, was a Halloween horror show.
Defender Alfie Mawson and goalkeeper Nick Townsend waited for the other to deal with a ball through the middle and Hopper, later forced off by a dislocated shoulder, nipped in to finish from close range.
The goal that doubled the Iron’s lead was easier on the eye, McSheffrey steaming into the penalty area to meet a cross from Scott Wiseman four minutes before the break.
Barnsley had a golden opportunity to get themselves back in the game in stoppage time, when they were awarded a penalty for a shirt pull. But Winnall’s spotkick was pushed away by goalkeeper Luke Daniels.
In contrast to the Tykes, Scunthorpe are flying. This victory means they have won five from six in October. “The points are most welcome. It was a grind, but we knew it would be after they lost five on the bounce before,” said manager Mark Robins, a former boss of the Tykes.
“In the first half when we passed it we looked a threat but defensively in the second we were better.
“Thankfully we saw the game out, but it was more than that. I thought we were comfortable when they threw everything at us.
“Tom deservedly got his goal and the second one showed what we are about when we go forward.”