Millwall 1-2 Barnsley: Late goal lifts Tykes off bottom
- Published
Conor Chaplin has now netted seven goals in as many games in the Championship
Patrick Schmidt's late goal gave Barnsley their second win in a row as they won at Millwall to move off the bottom of the Championship.
Conor Chaplin opened the scoring in the 40th minute, striking a superb first-time finish from a low cross by Jacob Brown.
But Millwall looked to have broken the visiting fans' hearts when they equalised in the 85th minute after Matt Smith's header was turned in by Aiden O'Brien on the line.
However, Tykes substitute Luke Thomas stole the ball from Jed Wallace in stoppage-time before crossing to Schmidt, whose header gave Barnsley all three points and only their fourth win of the season.
Millwall were unbeaten in their previous seven league games (W4 D3) and they had the better of the early chances, with Jake Cooper unable to turn home a cross at the back-post in the sixth minute.
And the Lions defender came close again, putting a header from an inswinging free-kick narrowly wide mid-way through the opening half.
Barnsley opened the scoring against the run of play as Chaplin made it seven goals in seven games, and nearly doubled their advantage five minutes later when he forced a fine save from Millwall keeper Bartosz Bialkowski.
The hosts were nearly level just before the hour mark as ex-Tyke Tom Bradshaw struck an effort narrowly over the crossbar, but when they did find an equaliser it looked to be just rewards for their display.
Barnsley, though, had other ideas as Schmidt scored his second for the club, heading home to delight his fellow Austrian, boss Gerhard Struber, as they moved to one point off safety in the Championship table.
Millwall manager Gary Rowett told BBC London:
"Yes I'm disappointed, obviously it's a frustrating performance. It was not as high as the standards we've set so far. If you look at the first 30 minutes I thought we were really comfortable, I thought we were the best team by far.
"In the second half we huffed and puffed, we didn't really go very far with any sort of precision. My frustration is, when you get back into the game in the 87th minute, you take the point.
"You're not happy with it but you keep the unbeaten run going."
Barnsley boss Gerhard Struber:
"For us it's a very, very important victory, it's good for our soul, for our mind and for our self-confidence. We created a very good second half. In the first half we had some problems on the ball, our positioning was not clear and we gave away simple balls.
"After the equaliser, we had the mentality to win and this is a special moment for me, for my team and the whole club. He [Chaplin] is in top form, we're very happy we have Conor, we have so many good players, big talents in my team.
"We didn't play like a relegation-threatened team, we played very well, and I hope we can follow that up on Boxing Day - for now, we'll have a merry Christmas!"