A goal worthy of winning any cup-tie from home midfielder Darren Barnard in
the 27th minute gave Barnsley a deserved place in tomorrow's fourth round draw.
The home star curled a brilliant free-kick around Gavin Ward's defensive wall
to give Danny Wilson's men a much-needed boost.
However, the match was marred by disgraceful scenes at the end, when Bolton's
England Under-21 midfielder Alan Thompson clashed with a ball boy.
When Thompson grabbed the ball off the ball boy and pushed him away, it
prompted a furious reaction from the home dugout who got involved in a brawl,
which involved both sets of players and at least two dozen policemen.
Punches were thrown and it took a couple of minutes before referee David
Elleray could restart the final 90 seconds of the match. A steward was then
escorted away by police before an investigation began.
Bolton have now failed to defeat Barnsley in any of their three meetings in
the competition and, although they had much of the pressure, they lost out to a
more dangerous home side.
The clubs had met on two previous occasions in the competition with the Reds
looking for a hat-trick of successes.
And, the last time they met in the FA Cup, 10 years ago, the Oakwell club ran
out 3-1 winners, with current Newcastle defender John Beresford scoring one of
the goals.
The big question for the visitors was whether their former Wimbledon striker
Dean Holdsworth would start. He failed to overcome a leg injury and Nathan Blake
provided their forward threat.
Home boss Danny Wilson had the luxury of being able to select from a
full-strength squad and, after holding the Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on
Boxing Day, they were confident of going through to the fourth round draw.
Surprisingly, the tie was not a sell-out with Bolton fans being able to buy
tickets on the day, on a blustery, cold afternoon further spoilt by intermitent
rain showers.
As the tie kicked off, sleet began to come down but this did not seem to
bother the visitors, who began strongly.
Blake was their dangerman, making a number of good breaks down the left, and
in the seventh minute only a foul by Arjan De Zeeuw stopped the marauding
leading scorer. From the resultant free-kick, Ashley Ward so nearly put past his
own keeper David Watson.
However, as the tie went on so the home side began to get a grip of the
midfield with skipper Neil Redfearn prominent. It was his 10th minute effort
which flew inches wide before he curled a free-kick a yard past Gavin Ward's
left-hand upright.
Barnsley were now in control and they took a deserved lead in the 27th minute
when Darren Barnard curled a suprb free kick around the defensive wall and into
the visitors' net.
This was the midfielder's second goal of the season and within minutes they
could have doubled their lead with Clint Marcelle going close.
Bolton's only attack of note before the break, as their lively opening fizzled
out, came six minutes before the break when Blake wasted a great opportunity
after he had bludgeoned his way into the box.
The home side had the strong wind behind them in the second half but it was
the visitors who had the majority of early play.
Both Thompson and Gunnlaugsson went close before the tie became more niggly.
Thompson and Darren Sheridan clashed on the half-way line and before referee
David Elleray could show them yellow cards he had to seperate two sets of
players looking for a fight.
Two minutes later it was Hristov's turn to clash with the Bolton defenders,
forcing the referee to call both skippers together and insist they tell their
players to cool it.
Both Martin Bullock and Redfearn should have put the home side well clear,
Redfearn hitting the post from only five yards in the 59th minute, before the
late Bolton onslaught.
Teams
Barnsley: Watson, Eaden, Sheridan, Moses, De Zeeuw, Redfearn,
Marcelle (Bullock 63), Tinkler, Hristov (Liddell 78), Barnard,
Ward.
Subs Not Used: Appleby, Hendrie, Bosancic.
Booked: De Zeeuw, Sheridan.
Goals: Barnard 26.
Bolton: Ward, Whitlow (Cox 32), Fish, Todd, Frandsen,
Pollock (Beardsley 76), Sellars, Blake, Thompson, Bergsson,
Gunnlaugsson.
Subs Not Used: Fairclough, Johansen, Jaaskelainen.
Booked: Whitlow, Thompson, Frandsen, Sellars.
Att: 15,042
Ref: D R Elleray (Harrow-on-the-Hill).
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