Tireless Tykes have the first and last words
BARNSLEY ran riot at the Banks’s Stadium as Paul Heckingbottom won the battle of the caretaker bosses in emphatic style.
And Walsall’s failure made for a sorry trio – alongside Brighton and Accrington – who blew another chance via the play-offs after their automatic promotion bids went sour on the final day of the season.
In truth, the game was all but up for the Saddlers after conceding a 3-0 deficit in the first leg, but interim head coach Jon-Whitney planned to go out fighting with a positive 3-5-2 formation. As it turned out, they weren’t the team that did most of the attacking.
Barnsley took the lead in the 18th minute when Walsall failed to clear and Conor Hourihane’s ball into the box fell to Adam Hammill’s feet.The midfielder kept his composure to slot home.
Neil Etheridge then pawed away Sam Winnall’s point-blank header to keep the Saddlers in it – just about – though his opposite No.1, Adam Davies, also did superbly to keep out Tom Bradshaw.
The Tykes’ Manchester United loanee Ashley Fletcher missed two fine opportunities to put the tie to bed.
But Heckingbottom’s men were weathering a storm before they finally got a second goal their play deserved.
It came in the 69th minute, after a spell of Walsall pressure, as 20-year-old Fletcher tucked the ball home from a Hammill cross.
The Saddlers were not even afforded the last word. Jordan Cook had come off the bench to curl home a beauty for them, but Josh Brownhill added a third for Barnsley following a mistake by full-back Rico Henry.