Barnsley 1-0 Birmingham City: Daryl Dike strikes for Tykes' seventh straight win
- Published
Daryl Dike's match-winning strike was the on-loan Orlando City man's third goal in four games
Daryl Dike smashed home the only goal of the game at Oakwell as Barnsley beat Birmingham City to claim a seventh straight Championship win.
The on-loan American striker enlivened a poor game with the only memorable moment after 49 minutes when he powered in a 20-yard strike.
Carlton Morris fed him in space on the right and the January signing from Orlando City took the ball into the box before walloping home a right-foot shot past helpless keeper Neil Etheridge into the top-right corner.
On only his fifth start it was Dike's third goal in four games, and secured the Tykes a seventh consecutive win in English football's first or second tier for the first time in their history.
Barnsley's fourth win in their past six meetings with Birmingham lifts Valerien Ismael's side above Bournemouth into the play-off places in sixth.
Since the Frenchman took charge of Barnsley on 27 October, only runaway leaders Norwich City (60) have won more Championship points than Barnsley (53 in 27 games).
For Aitor Karanka's Blues, their 17th league defeat of the season leaves them just three points clear of safety with 11 games left.
City went into the game on the back of an encouraging run of seven points from four games, but failed to register a single effort on target.
Barnsley, who have a game in hand on the majority of their rivals, have a chance to cement their place in the top six when they host Wayne Rooney's Derby on Wednesday, while Blues are not back in action until next Saturday, at home to Bristol City.
Barnsley manager Valerien Ismael: "In my 28 or 29 years in football, I have never seen a strike like that before. It was something unbelievable.
"We've kept a clean sheet and we are in a brilliant position at the moment. The transfer window was important for us and now we are getting the reward. I am delighted that we made some great choices.
"This is what you can achieve when you believe. Everyone has the same vision, and everyone is hungry. We will have a clear picture of the table just before the international break."
Birmingham manager Aitor Karanka: "Once again we couldn't score. They scored and we were unable to score. It's impossible to score a goal when we don't shoot on target.
"We had 90 minutes to shoot and we were unable to have a shot on target. I don't know why that was. I encourage players to shoot.
"When you lose a game, something hasn't worked and as a coach I am responsible for the result. We are in this position because of the mistakes that we are making. We can't blame anybody but ourselves."
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