BARNSLEY head coach Darrell Clarke labelled his side’s performance after taking the lead against title favourites Birmingham City as ‘unacceptable’ after being on the receiving end of a Jay Stansfield double as the Reds’ winless streak extended to six matches in all competitions.
The hosts deserved their 58th-minute lead when Stephen Humphrys’ cross-shot was deflected into the net by Blues midfielder Paik Seung-Ho.
However, Blues levelled immediately thanks to Stansfield’s excellent long-range shot.
The Reds, who had lost crucial defender Marc Roberts to injury early in the second half, were reduced to ten men after Adam Phillips was sent off for a second bookable offence.
While luck was against Barnsley, who should have been awarded a first-half penalty after Krystian Bielik blatantly grabbed Humphrys’ shirt in the area, Clarke was more upset with his team’s mentality in the end.
Clarke, who revealed that Fabio Jalo had an injury in training on Friday and Josh Earl was also absent, said: “It was frustrating. Up until their equaliser, we were doing a lot of things well.
“We were the team in control for the bulk of the game against a team that can open you up.
“We reduced their chances of scoring a goal. However, celebrating after taking a 1-0 lead is not allowed.
“You want your players to enjoy a goal. Then I want a ‘reset’ and the ball to be in the back of our net 30 seconds later is not good enough.
“Those are the fine lines whether you actually want to be a winner or consistently winning. We have to be better than that.
“To give the second goal away from a set-piece and players not doing their jobs is unacceptable.
“You are not going to hear hard luck stories from me. As I said to the players after the game: ‘be a proper winner, not a nearly man.’
“To be a proper winner, you have to make sure you get the second or third goal and focus for 95 minutes and switch off when you score a goal.
“You have to be ruthless when you are on top in games and show that desire. And we’ve fallen short of that in the last five or six games.”
Barnsley fans voiced their displeasure with boos aimed towards referee Thomas Parsons at the half-time whistle and at the end.
“You won’t hear any bad luck stories from me. As I instructed the players after the game, “Be a proper winner, not a nearly man.”
“To be a true winner, you must score the second or third goal, maintain attention for 95 minutes, then turn off after scoring.
“When you’re on top of your game, you have to be ruthless and show your ambition. And we have gone short of that in the last five or six games.
Barnsley fans booed referee Thomas Parsons throughout halftime and at the end of the game.
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