The end of the 2019/20 Championship season will forever be etched in Barnsley folklore despite being worldwide disruptions meaning supporters were unable to see the heroics of Gerhard Strubers’ side in person.
With two games remaining and victories needed against promotion-chasing Nottingham Forest and Brentford, Barnsley earned last-minute victory in both games to avoid relegation to League One. Brentford missed out on automatic promotion to the Premier League during their last regular season game at Griffin Park.
2019/20 Championship resumed with Barnsley bottom of the Championship
The 2019/20 Championship season was suspended in March 2020 as a result of the Covid epidemic sweeping the United Kingdom. The EFL eventually restarted the season in late June, with Barnsley returning to action on June 20, 2020, lying bottom of the league and seven points from safety.
Manager Gerhard Struber was appointed in November 2019, a month after Daniel Stendel was released of his duties following a dismal start in the Championship.
The new Tykes manager had began to turn the tide at Oakwell ahead of the forced season break, and when the second tier resumed, he breathed fresh life into their chances of staying up, with a 1-0 win away at QPR in the first game back being the ideal way to restart the survival push.
Barnsley’s hopes for a Championship future remained alive with two games remaining, but the odds were still stacked against them, given those two games were against teams vying for Premier League promotion. Nottingham Forest were in a play-off place, while Brentford hoped for automatic promotion.
The Tykes would end their home season at Oakwell against Forest before travelling to Griffin Park to face the Bees, who were in their final season before moving to their new home, the Brentford Community Stadium.
Barnsley leave it late to fell Forest
Barnsley headed into their penultimate game of the season at home against Forest knowing that only a win would give them a chance of survival and carry their fate into the final game at Brentford three days later.
Meanwhile, the visitors knew a point would secure a play-off spot, but their recent form had abandoned them, with three draws and two losses in their previous five games. There was so much at stake for both sides.
Barnsley dominated possession and generated over 20 chances, hitting the post and bar, but were unable to make a breakthrough as the clock approached 90 minutes. Struber rolled the dice after halftime, bringing in Austrian attacker Patrick Schmidt and top scorer Cauley Woodrow in the hopes of finding a winning combination.
As the game entered the 93rd minute and all hope seemed dead, Schmidt became an instant hero, tapping the ball home for his third goal of the season. The Barnsley bench erupted, with Struber and the substitutes dashing onto the Oakwell grass to celebrate with Schmidt and the rest of the squad in euphoric scenes; the only downside for the Tykes being that the stadium was not full to rejoice with the team.
So Barnsley would live to fight another day, and their determination would propel them into the final game of the 2019/20 season, a difficult trip to Brentford, who knew victory would guarantee immediate promotion to the Premier League.
Championship standings: 2019/2020
Team
P
GD
Pts
20
Birmingham City
46
-21
50
21
Barnsley
46
-20
49
22
Charlton
46
-15
48
23
Wigan Athletic
46
-1
47
24
Hull City
46
-30
45
Barnsley again saved themselves at the death
A do-or-die game awaited Barnsley at Griffin Park, with the Tykes facing the Bees. Barnsley calmed their anxieties in the first half when Callum Styles scored, putting the Tykes ahead at halftime. Brentford, on the other hand, drew level with 17 minutes remaining when Josh Dasilva fired home.
Brentford needed four points from their final two games to finish second and earn promotion to the Premier League. Brentford, meanwhile, fell 1-0 at Stoke City four days before the Barnsley encounter, putting additional pressure on Thomas Frank’s team. Both teams wanted a win for very different reasons, and as the game entered the last minutes, Barnsley’s unlikely hero emerged.
Schmidt sent in a fantastic cross into the Brentford six-yard box that evaded everyone but defender Clarke Oduor, who was unmarked at the far post and couldn’t miss to win the game for Barnsley. The Barnsley squad was ecstatic at the end of the game, and it was hard to believe that the Tykes had not once, but twice, scored last-gasp winning goals to avoid relegation in the final two games of the season.
Brentford were relegated to the play-offs, and although defeating Swansea City in the semi-finals, the Bees were defeated by Fulham at Wembley Stadium and failed to advance.
The Yorkshire club waited anxiously for news of survival while Wigan Athletic disputed the EFL’s 12-point sanction for entering administration. The Latics’ appeal was denied, so Barnsley remained in the league, one point ahead of third-place Charlton Athletic and two points ahead of Wigan.
No Barnsley fan will ever forget Gerhard Struber’s stay as manager and the magical endings to the final two games against Nottingham Forest and Brentford, which will go down in Oakwell history.
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