Jamal Campbell-Ryce sent Sheffield Wednesday reeling to South Yorkshire derby defeat with a rare moment of magic in a disappointing Coca-Cola Championship encounter.
The Jamaica international showed why a clutch of Premier League clubs are monitoring the enigmatic winger with a stunning 38th-minute strike after dancing in from the wing.
Campbell-Ryce's fine finish secured the Tykes their first win at Hillsborough since 1979 and saw Simon Davey's band of foreign imports complete a rare league double over Wednesday, who went down 2-1 at Oakwell in October.
But it took an equally stunning goal-line clearance from Tykes defender Bobby Hassell to deny Marcus Tudgay in the 87th minute to end Barnsley's dreadful run of league form.
It was the Tykes' first win in the Championship since Boxing Day with four successive league defeats seeing them slip to within two points of the bottom three.
Wednesday were on top of the world 10 days ago when securing a first league double over Sheffield United in 95 years.
But Brian Laws' side failed to muster their best form and followed up Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Doncaster with only their third league defeat in 16 matches at Hillsborough.
It just was not meant to be for the Owls and it appears to be a case of back to the drawing board after the feelgood factor engendered by the recent arrival of new chairman Lee Strafford.
Wednesday made just one change, with Mark Beevers succumbing to an ankle injury and Richard Hinds stepping in, while Andranik Teymourian and Michael Mifsud made their long-awaited Barnsley debuts.
Visiting captain Stephen Foster, Hugo Colace and Daniel Bogdanovic - Mifsud's Malta international strike partner - also returned for the Tykes, who were grateful to be back in action.
Barnsley's last match was a defeat at Bristol City on January 31.
The Owls wasted three free-kicks on the edge of the penalty area inside the first eight minutes, but failed to threaten again up until the half-hour mark.
Barnsley fared no better, but looked the more hungry side for long periods of a disappointing local derby.
But the Tykes fans in the Leppings Lane end erupted in the 38th minute when Campbell-Ryce struck a bolt from the blue.
The former Southend winger raced on to Bogdanovic's fine pass on the edge of the area, bamboozled Owls midfielder James O'Connor and slammed an angled drive, left-footed, into the top corner.
The second half was equally drab, with the first shot by either side, from Owls midfielder Darren Potter after an hour, bobbling tamely wide.
Wednesday manager Brian Laws sent on Francis Jeffers, back from a three-game ban, in place of on-loan midfielder Michael Gray with 29 minutes remaining.
Jeffers' arrival lifted Wednesday, but when skipper Richard Wood appeared set to bundle home the equaliser, Jermaine Johnson's bouncing cross wrong-footed the big defender.
Owls winger Johnson then tested Tykes goalkeeper Heinz Muller at last with an angled drive and Barnsley responded by replacing the fading Bogdanovic with Jon Macken.
Wednesday substitute Wade Small appeared for Johnson in the 70th minute, but despite frantic attempts to launch a sustained attack the home side made little headway against determined opposition.
Small blazed over, while Mifsud was foiled by Owls goalkeeper Lee Grant and after Hassell had acrobatically kept out Tudgay's chip over goalkeeper Heinz, the Tykes held on for a much-needed win.
Teams
Sheff Wed Grant, Buxton, Wood, Hinds, Spurr,Johnson (Small 70), Potter, O'Connor, Gray (Jeffers 62),Tudgay, Clarke (Boden 80).
Subs Not Used: O'Donnell, McAllister.
Booked: Johnson.
Barnsley Muller, Hassell, Van Homoet, Foster, Moore, De Silva,Colace, Teymourian (Hammill 80), Campbell-Ryce, Mifsud,Bogdanovic (Macken 69).
Subs Not Used: Steele, Guedes, Devaney.
Booked: Campbell-Ryce, Van Homoet, Mifsud, Moore.
Goals: Campbell-Ryce 38.
Att: 25,820
Ref: Russell Booth (Nottinghamshire).
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