CCFC 1 v 1 BARNSLEY

The Barnsley fixture always brings with it a warm glow of nostalgia and an appreciation for their unlikely victory over Chelsea in the 2008 FA Cup quarter finals which made our path to the final that much easier. Our semi-final victory over the Tykes with the winning goal scored by a Fairwater boy was pure Roy of the Rovers copy (without the comically restrained crowd speech bubbles: 'Cripes! That's a marvellous strike from Ledley. Good goal Cardiff. Hurrah! etc.) and was celebrated with an intense euphoria that almost matched the anguish that followed the subsequent hat-trick of Wembley Final defeats.

In recent years hope turning to despair and events beyond our control conspiring to defeat expectations has been a recurring theme. And so it was again tonight.

(This isn't the introduction I'd prepared. That light-hearted, frivolous, slightly sneering one has been put aside for another day as the ultimate prize continues to dangle tantalisingly beyond our grasp.)

The run of three homes games in a week held out the prospect of clinching promotion at home to Forest next Saturday should Watford slip up at Peterboro. The victory celebrations had been planned, the tour of Pontcanna's finest hostelries and ethnic eateries had been pencilled in; much jolly banter and joyous swigging of Mr Brains' finest ales would ensue.

Back in 1570 a certain Thomas Howell recorded his own thoughts on such matters:

Counte not thy Chickens that vnhatched be,
Waye wordes as winde, till thou finde certaintee

Barnsley are also a team on the brink. Not within sight of the land of milk and honey; the view beyond their threshold is one of oblivion. Their recent resurgence has however given them real hope of avoiding the drop. Victories over Watford, Brighton and Leicester and last weekend's goalless away draw at Palace has helped our cause but also provided a warning that this was unlikely to be a Champs v Chumps mismatch.

From the start it was clear that Barnsley's strategy was based on their ability to manoeuvre the proverbial bus into position and invite us to find a way around it. Unfortunately despite total domination in the first half with Kim and Mutch getting forward looking for openings we lacked the tactical nous and initiative to find a way through. Time and again the final ball was clumsy, dead ball situations were wasted (Bellamy's radar was way off beam) and the closest we came was from speculative punts outside the box. It was all a bit too obvious; a situation crying out for an in-form Whittingham to execute one of his trademark defence-splitting assists. Unfortunately that's not so easy from the bench.

The crowd, if not voicing their frustration, were fairly subdued waiting for the team to spark them into life. But the game was following much the same pattern as the Blackburn victory and there was every expectation that a goal would ease the tension.

When it finally came it was from an unexpected source. On the hour Turner threw his considerable bulk behind a deep Kim corner and fumbled the ball over the line. 1-0.

Barnsley's surprisingly enterprising response was a succession of positive substitutions that gave them three options upfront and held open the prospect of gaps aplenty in midfield. The game began to open up. We sat deeper, allowing the resurgent Tykes to take the initiative but we were comfortably soaking up the pressure.

Helguson, who had replaced Mason on the hour in a sensible move that some of us had thought might have been made at half time, kept the Barnsley defence busy anticipating the breakouts from defence. He had a number of opportunities late on to settle the outcome including a one-one with the keeper. The stage was set for the Icelander to stage a dramatic denouement. Unfortunately he fluffed his lines. The closest he's likely to get to the Premiership next season will be a large screen in a lounge somewhere in downtown Rejkjavik.

The fourth official's board went up indicating a worrying and inexplicable five minutes of extra time which on the back of Helguson's failures seemed to breathe new life into the opposition. The referee allowed play to continue into the 97th minute, advising Malky after the game that four seconds remained when Barnsley's deflected goal forced a rapid rescheduling of the promotion party. Do the math!

Malky's post-match interview was in sharp contrast to the crowd's dark mood; devoid of incrimination and blame he provided a reassuringly upbeat assessment of our position ie. one point closer to promotion, nine points clear of 3rd, each team with five games to play. He's right of course. It must be so much easier being the manager.

As Phil said in the car on the way back 'I could have done with a good night's sleep tonight'. Well that' s not going to happen anytime soon...