Monday 8 February: Daily Express

Watford defeat without Cleverley: Watford missed the midfield invention of injured top scorer Tom Cleverley

WATFORD missed the midfield invention of injured top scorer Tom Cleverley, and a run of just one victory in nine games has badly dented their play-off hopes.

Henri Lansbury had strong penalty claims ignored when he was sent sprawling by Carl Dickinson, and substitute Danny Graham's late header was harshly ruled out for pushing.

Manager Malky Mackay said: "We deserved something from the game but the two major decisions have gone against us."
Emil Hallfredsson scored Barnsley's 55th-minute winner when he beat Scott Loach at his near post.

Saturday 6 February: Daily Mail

Barnsley 1 Watford 0: Hallfredsson strikes to boost ten-man Tykes' play-off hopes

BARNSLEY boss Mark Robins heaped praise on his improving side as they clung on with ten-men to claim their highest Championship position of the season.

Emil Hallfredsson's 55th minute goal was the difference between the two sides as the Reds climbed two places to ninth in the standings.

But defender Ryan Shotton's 76th minute red card for a two-footed lunge on fellow full-back Lloyd Doyley forced the hosts to soak up a barrage of pressure in the closing stages.

Five minutes of injury-time time didn't make life any easier and it was goalkeeper Luke Steele who made sure the hosts held on to maximum points with a brilliant save to deny Arsenal loan midfielder Henri Lansbury in the dying seconds.

The Hornets also had a goal disallowed when Danny Graham's header was chalked out for a foul, but Robins team had the better of the chances and got revenge for a 1-0 defeat at Vicarage Road in September.

'I thought we played some good football, but we nearly go and commit suicide by losing a man, that was the most disappointing thing for me,' admitted Robins.

'However, I thought we were excellent value for a win. We're on a decent run having won three of our last four.

'It was a very hard-fought three points, but very welcome all the same.

'Everybody contributed today and I thought we moved the ball well because they made life difficult for us.'

But despite his side's second successive victory having thumped Preston North End 4-1 in Tuesday night, Robins still criticised Shotton for the decision which nearly cost his team dear.

'He's [Ryan] got to learn to concentrate a bit more, at the moment there's too many times he's laxidazical," added Robins.
'If he does that he'll be a Premiership player, but the real disappointment for me is that we'll be without him on Tuesday [away to Middlesbrough].'

Earlier West Brom loan midfielder Filipe Teixeira had two good chances to give the Reds the lead, but his left-foot strikes both flew wide of the target.

The Watford managment team instruct from the dugout

Lansbury had a penalty appeal turned down after a strong challenge from Carl Dickinson, before Hallfredsson latched on to a pass from Andy Gray and beat Hornets keeper Scott Loach with a sweet left-foot strike.

Substitute Danny Graham had a header disallowed late on and Lansbury had his powerful shot superbly saved by Steele as Robins' side continued their impressive rise up the table.

Hornets boss Malky Mackay was furious with Essex referee Fred Graham for not awarding his side a first half penalty and for also chalking off Danny Graham's second-half equaliser for a foul.

'I look at the two major decisions in the game - and it's embarrassing," blasted Mackay.

'The penalty decision in the first half was bad and then Danny Graham's header.

'It was an embarrassing decision and if the referee looks at that again he'll be embarrassed.'

The Hornets have now not won away from home since October - and Mackay admits that worrying form is a major cause for concern.

'You want to pick up the points away from home, but I think we certainly deserve something from that game.

'I was proud of our performance in the way we applied ourselves, we gave a good account of ourselves.

'We were deserving of more than we got today. After going a goal down we showed a lot of character and played well.'

Saturday 6 February: Skysports.com

Tykes claim Hornets win: Hallfredsson bags winner

BARNSLEY moved into the top-ten in the Championship after a 1-0 win over Watford at Oakwell.

The winner came through Emil Hallfredsson, who scored just before the hour mark.
And the home side were forced to finish the game with 10 men as Ryan Shotton was dismissed, but they held out for the victory to move just three points off the top six.

John Eustace battles for the ball

The star of the show was Filipe Teixeira, making his home debut after joining the Tykes on loan from West Brom.
The Portuguese midfielder was a constant menace and had a hand in Hallfredsson's 55th-minute strike.

Watford, by contrast, were missing their own loan star and main midfield threat Tom Cleverley after the Manchester United youngster failed a late fitness test.

Teixeira almost marked his first Oakwell appearance with a spectacular volleyed goal in the opening stages but the ball flew wide.

The hosts dominated possession in the first half but Watford were dangerous on the counter-attack, and Jon Harley put a header wide from Doyley's cross.

Arsenal loanee Henri Lansbury felt he should have had a penalty when he was felled in the Barnsley area but referee Fred Graham was not interested.

The lively Teixeira tried another couple of long-range efforts before the interval but did not manage to trouble Watford's England Under-21 goalkeeper Scott Loach.

Whatever Tykes boss Mark Robins said to his players at half-time did the trick as they looked a different team after the break.
They came close to opening the scoring in the 54th minute when Nathan Doyle let fly from 25 yards and rattled a post.

And 60 seconds later the deadlock was finally broken. Teixeira did well to keep the ball in play and found Andy Gray, whose pass sent Hallfredsson galloping through.

Hallfredsson rounded Hornets full-back Adrian Mariappa and blasted the ball past Loach, who got a touch but could not prevent it rolling in via the inside of the post.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men when Shotton was, perhaps harshly, shown a straight red card for bringing down Doyley.
They came close to doubling their lead in the closing stages when Gray raced through only to be denied by Loach.

And Tykes keeper Luke Steele secured three points for his side with a fine stoppage-time save from Lansbury.

Monday 8 February: Daily Mirror

Barnsley 1-0 Watford: The Daily Mirror match report

IT'S been a long time since Barnsley fans looked at the table and did not feel the ghoulish figure of relegation looming over their shoulders.

Henri Lansbury is brought down

The Tykes' have spent the last three campaigns entrenched in the relegation mire, but Emil Hallfredsson's well-taken goal took them up to the surreal heights of ninth.

But rather than basking in the limelight, their on-loan Iceland international midfielder from Reggina was gearing up for his new role as a tour guide - after enjoying a hearty steak.

He said: "I will go out for a nice meal with my girlfriend. I'll try to get a good steak and rest.

"My girlfriend's sister is over from Iceland, so we'll have to go out and show her around Leeds," explained Hallfredsson.

"We'll have to take her to the zoo and those types of things. I'm not really sure where we will go, I'm just the driver really."

It was the first time that Barnsley had constructed back-to-back wins in two months, but it could have been a greater margin of victory.

Nathan Doyle saw his 25-yard pile driver crash off the post after the interval, while Scott Loach was at full stretch to keep out the excellent Andy Gray.

What made this win even more rewarding was that it was achieved against the back-drop of Ryan Shotton's 76th minute dismissal for a wild two-footed lunge on Lloyd Dooley.

Watford, though, left Yorkshire feeling justifiably aggrieved.  Henri Lansbury looked to have been brought down by Carl Dickinson in the first-half after a typically slick Hornets move.

Hallfredsson put the Tykes' ahead when he collected Andy Gray's cross field pass and jinxed his way past Hornets' full-back Adrian Mariappa before firing past Loach after 55 minutes.

Without an away win since October, Watford tried their best to amend that.
Substitute Danny Graham had a late header disallowed for a foul before Luke Steele produced a fingertip save in the last minute of added time to keep out Lansbury's 25-yard free-kick.

A visibly angry Hornets boss Malky Mackay laid into the referee when he blasted: "I look at the two major decisions in the game and it's embarrassing. The penalty decision in the first half was bad and then there was Danny Graham's header."

For Robins, there were no such tales of lament. Barnsley were bottom in September when he arrived but continue to flourish.

He said: "I thought that we were excellent value for the win. We're on a decent run having won three of our last four."

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