Barnsley 2-0 Blackburn Rovers
- Published
Sam Winnall scored Barnsley's 13th headed goal of the season in the Championship
Sam Winnall's header and a Marley Watkins goal gave Barnsley victory against 10-man Blackburn, who remain in the Championship relegation places.
Winnall's 10th of the season from Conor Hourihane's cross gave the Tykes the lead, while fellow striker Tom Bradshaw was denied by goalkeeper Jason Steele.
Rovers, who had Darragh Lenihan sent off late on for chopping down Sam Morsy, pressed for an equaliser.
However, Watkins' injury-time strike ensured the points for the hosts.
With three wins from their past four games before Boxing Day's match, Barnsley had resurrected their early-season form and this victory kept them in touch with the top six going into 2017.
Their rediscovered confidence was reflected in their start, as Bradshaw had chances to score before Winnall nodded in the opener.
The goal sparked the visitors into a response, with Adam Davies in the Reds' goal worked hard by efforts from Marvin Emnes, Wes Brown and Sam Gallagher.
Blackburn's desperation for points was evident in their efforts towards the end of the game, first in further chances for Corry Evans, Gallagher and Emnes again, and then in the frustration of Lenihan's dismissal.
Watkins' goal was the final act for Barnsley, condemning Rovers to a fourth defeat in succession.
Barnsley head coach Paul Heckingbottom:
"Avoiding relegation wasn't our focus. That limits you to wanting to finish fourth from bottom.
"Our focus is to be as good as we can be so we won't limit ourselves in that respect, we'll just try and pick up as many points as possible.
"The players have got every right to be buzzing, they've been terrific and long may it continue.
"You are where you deserve to be, so as we're ninth we deserve to be ninth. We won't get carried away and will keep trying to get better."
Blackburn head coach Owen Coyle:
"There's a sense of frustration for me at the end when there's a stonewall penalty as far as I was concerned. Then of course a couple of minutes later we're down to 10 men.
"There were little things we could have done better in the game, we created chances to get back into it.
"We certainly know we're capable of turning things around quickly and moving up the table to where we want to be."