ALL four of the South Yorkshire sides in the Championship sit within three points of the relegation zone after their woes continued ahead of the international break, writes Liam Hoden.
Barnsley and
Sheffield United were locked in a stalemate in their derby clash, a point failing to improve both sides' fortunes while Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster both lost.
United manager Kevin Blackwell beli
eves the international break will provide the opportunity to get "four or five' names of the long injury list at Bramall Lane and improve their fortunes.
Nick Montgomery, Gary Naysmith and Richard Cresswell all have a good chance of making it into the squad when United return to action with the visit of newly managerless Peterborough next weekend.
Blackwell was pleased with the fight his patched-up side showed in coming from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw with Barnsley on Monday night. He said: "The lads have shown the spirit that we've asked of them. The ones who've been here a long time have always shown it and now the new ones have demonstrated they've got it too.
"Now, with the international break coming up, we've got an opportunity to get four or five fit again and hopefully press on."
It was clear Blackwell was happier than his Barnsley counterpart Mark Robins at the final whistle, going as far as suggesting the result could a turning point for the Blades' season.
The Reds missed a host of chances to kill off United whose goals both came from the penalty spot, one of those perhaps slightly fortunate to have been given.
Chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" directed at Blackwell by Barnsley supporters as they took the lead may have been a little premature, but the pressure remains on the Blades' boss. However, the point gained – despite only being their first in five matches – eased that pressure and ensured the number asking questions of his reign will be smaller over the international break, especially with the injury picture improving. What is clear is that the number of points must increase as the number of bodies in the treatment room decreases.
The list of sidelined names was extended by two at Oakwell as Ian Bennett suffered a broken thumb in the first half when Matthew Kilgallon went off with suspected ankle ligament damage.
Kilgallon expressed his anger at being asked to stay on until the break after suffering the injury around the 42 minute mark. After protesting towards the bench when Barnsley mounted an attack, he was replaced by Derek Geary who made his return to action after an 18 month absence, earning the praise of his boss. "We all thought Del was finished, to be honest," Blackwell said. "We didn't think he was going to play again but, I tell you what, he's come back and shown a great deal of courage. He stepped into the breach when we needed him after only training for two weeks having been out for such a long time."
Barnsley – who play Cardiff City at Oakwell next weekend – took the lead through a fine Anderson de Silva strike but United were back level inside 10 minutes as Clattenburg pointed to the spot when Ched Evans crashed down under challenge from Reds stopper Luke Steele, television replays suggesting the decision was wrong. Darius Henderson smashed in from the spot, and would again bring United level with a penalty after Kyle Walker was tumbled in a clumsy challenge from Adam Hammill. Daniel Bogdanovic had headed Barnsley back in front while a number of chances went begging for the hosts.
Another defensive lapse cost
Sheffield Wednesday a point from the visit of Queens Park Rangers. The impressive West London side took an early lead and looked set to run rampant over the Owls but they hit back against the run of play with Jermaine Johnson's fine finish.
Wednesday then took control of the contest but could not get in front before Kaspars Gorkss darted away from Richard Wood to head home the winner from a corner. The Owls are back in action next weekend with the visit to improving Ipswich.
Doncaster Rovers' woes continued after they lost 2-1 at fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle. Alan Judge put the hosts ahead but Dean Shiels immediately hit back with a rebounded effort from a free-kick, his third goal in four games. Martin Woods was sent off for a second bookable offence before Rory Fallon finished well after Jamie Mackie's shot had been saved to earn Plymouth the win.
Rovers now face the tough task of a QPR visit after the international break.
