Valerien Ismael’s reign as Barnsley’s head coach got off to a perfect start as his side outscored Queens Park Rangers at 10 for a first win of the season
The key moment of the match came midway through the first half when Rob Dickie was sacked for shooting Cauley Woodrow on goal, and the forward converted the penalty
Conor Chaplin doubled his lead before the break and a comedic goal against Yoann Barbet completed a humiliating night for QPR, who failed to score for the fourth game in a row
All eyes were on Barnsley’s appearance under Ismael, but in the early stages they were on the ropes as QPR put the pressure on from the start They failed to create an opening note, however, and with the new boss offering instruction and encouragement galore from the edge of his technical zone, the Reds have started to find their rhythm.
The first real dramatic moment was the decisive action of the match Callum Styles, back in the squad after an injury, attempted to pass a pass behind and Barbet failed to intercept on the slide with the bouncing ball for woodrow Barbet’s partner Dickie was in trouble and grabbed a handful of the striker’s jersey to make a red card inevitable
Woodrow stepped in to slam the penalty, putting the Rangers behind with over an hour to play with 10 men.They reorganized to three fullbacks with Ilias Chair removed, but they couldn’t stop Barnsley from becoming a dominant force
It was 2-0 at the break, with Woodrow again decisive His daring flick brilliantly sent Dominik Frieser behind on the left, and he squared the ball for Chaplin to beat Seny Dieng up close
The pattern of play continued after the break with Barnsley in near total control Chaplin almost had a second goal to add to his hat-trick in this game last season, but he couldn’t find the right connection to head into a fantastic crossover of Styles
More goals seemed inevitable, though the way the third came in certainly couldn’t have been predicted Luck seemed gone when Woodrow couldn’t quite control Frieser’s pass, but when Barbet tried to bring the ball back to his keeper, Dieng was totally sore and the ball rolled comically into the net
QPR eventually started to work a few openings but the big chances continued to come from a side of Barnsley looking menacing on the counter Dieng had to make a series of saves to keep the score moderately respectable, including a nice stop against a scathing Frieser reader
Patrick Schmidt put three good chances straight to the goalkeeper and Elliot Simoes was also denied after a brilliant run, before Chaplin curled up as Barnsley continued to cut his opponents to pieces until the whistle blew final
If this is what Ismael can squeeze out of Barnsley after just two training sessions, what can become of them in the future?
Nothing groundbreaking was expected in terms of Barnsley’s style, not only because of the short time since his appointment, but because his approach very closely mirrors that of the club under its former coaches
The only major difference in structure was a more orthodox three front instead of a player behind a two front, and after a very rough start they were starting to show signs of promise when the red card changed skin tone Game
The fact that most of the fight was 11v10 means it’s more difficult to make final judgments, but they were still dangerous on the outside, moved the ball very well and in the second half , they looked devastating on the counter , but without the finish up to the task
All first impressions are indeed very good, and it will be worth watching the developments at Oakwell in the weeks and months to come
QPR was in hot water when, after dominating at least the first 10 minutes without really breaking through and then relinquishing control, Dickie’s intervention on a goal-tied Woodrow put the team at a disadvantage on the numbers and the dashboard
It didn’t have to be the end of this game as a contest, but the R’s failure to settle into a new system cost them just as much
First they made a substitution to move to 3-4-2, but Albert Adomah proved vulnerability as a full-back and was addicted to a more orthodox pick, Todd Kane, shortly after the break
They had taken away their two most creative offensive talents, Chair and Adomah, to keep two forwards on the pitch at Macauley Bonne and Lyndon Dykes, but neither of them touched the ball without the serve
It wasn’t until the final substitution, bringing Chris Willock for Bonne, that they finally looked more balanced, with Willock making a particularly good individual contribution, but moments later they were 3-0 and really beaten
Frieser was very impressive for Barnsley again, but for the most revealing contributions Woodrow just passed him on this occasion, winning and converting the penalty before scoring the second goal so brilliantly
It has long been unclear where Woodrow’s best position is, often used by Struber as a player behind a forward two, but in Ismael’s third forward he was the man in the middle playing as than traditional « number nine » his shirt number, and he was excellent there
He certainly has the physical attributes for the position, and since Ismael’s team doesn’t seem up against a long ball to relieve pressure when needed, he could be a useful outlet in that sense, compared to to the little runners who have formed the front two lately
His bonding play combinations and he showed here he can get into the right positions and run some good runs And sure enough he knows how to finish, top scorer with 15 last season and clinching his fourth of the current campaign with his extremely confident penalty
With Simoes and Schmidt coming off the bench and Luke Thomas to jump into the equation as well, there are plenty of offensive options for the head coach, but Woodrow is certain to play a key role
Queens Park FC Rangers, Barnsley FC, EFL Championship, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Valérien Ismaël, Mark Warburton
World News – GB – Barnsley 3-0 Queens Park Rangers: Ismael gets off to a perfect start
