Barnsley’s FA Cup campaign has come to an end after a lacklustre performance at Pride Park saw Derby County beat the South Yorkshire side 3-0 to confirm their place in the Fourth Round. The draw rewarded the Rams with a home tie against Premier League side West Ham United.
Barnsley started the game well and could have gone ahead on multiple occasions with Tom Edwards’ header that forced Joe Wildsmith into a clever save being the best chance from both sides in the first 20 minutes.
The right foot of Nicky Cadden saw the Reds nearly take the lead once again in a game they were well on top in, with the Scot cutting in from the left and curling an effort narrowly wide of the goal in the ninth minute.
But a lack of the clinical cutting edge cost the Reds in this affair as they created half chances constantly with Cadden putting the ball into the box multiple times but all crosses found a white shirt instead.
Derby grew into the contest and nearly took the lead halfway through the first half. Tom Barkhuizen put in a great cross to Everton loanee Lewis Dobbin who headed it just over but it forced Jack Walton into his first real movement of the game.
There was a long stoppage in play after Edwards went down clutching his knee after blocking a cross on the left and won Derby a corner. The block forced him to go off and it could be the final time the Stoke City loanee put on a Barnsley shirt.
From the resulting corner, Barnsley gave away a penalty for the fourth game in a row. Somewhere in the crowd inside the area, Wolfe was judged to have handled the ball from the quick swinging corner. Josh Benson came on to replace the injured Edwards before James Collins stepped up and rolled home past Walton to give the hosts the lead on the cusp of half-time.
After that goal before half time, there were two ways this game could have gone for the Tykes. They could come out and fight hard to get a goal and put Derby under pressure, or they could lose all control in the game and let Derby play how they wanted. Unfortunately, it was the latter and Barnsley never looked like troubling Wildsmith.
This proved to be crucial as in the 60th minute, Barkhuizen doubled Derby’s lead. The Reds failed to clear the ball and gifted the former Preston forward a goal that all but confirmed Derby’s continued involvement in the competition.
Jason Knight killed the contest 10 minutes from time, slotting the ball into an empty net. Another defensive disaster at the back allowed substitute Nathaniel Mendez-Laing to first fire at goal, Walton saved well – but the ball eventually broke for Knight who put the game out of sight for Michael Duff’s men.
The Reds now need to focus on the league and will play Charlton Athletic at the Valley next weekend. Duff’s men will have captain Mads Andersen back after his red card against Bolton Wanderers. Derby County can look forward to their next FA Cup fixture against West Ham United.
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