Barnsley 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday: Jordan Rhodes scores twice as Owls win at Oakwell
- Published
Jordan Rhodes has scored three goals in his past three appearances for Sheffield Wednesday
Darren Moore clinched his first victory as Sheffield Wednesday manager as two goals from Jordan Rhodes gave them a derby win at Barnsley.
The Tykes pulled one back late on through a volley from Carlton Morris but it was not enough as their 12-game unbeaten Championship run came to an end.
Wednesday remain in 23rd place and in the relegation zone but are now six points behind Birmingham in 21st with a game in hand on Blues.
Moore left League One Doncaster at the beginning of March and had lost three and drew one of his first four matches in charge of the Owls.
Rhodes' first goal came seven minutes before half-time when he headed in Barry Bannan's cross, and he tapped in his second after being set up by Josh Windass eight minutes after the break for his first double since 2019.
The loss for Barnsley was a blow for their hopes of returning to the Premier League for the first time since the 1997-98 season, although they remain in fifth and in the play-off places.
It was only the eighth time in 31 league games they had lost under Valerien Ismael and was their first Championship defeat since a 1-0 loss at Watford on 19 January.
The hosts had a late chance to snatch an equaliser but captain Alex Mowatt, who was able to play after having a red card against Wycombe on Wednesday rescinded, fired a free-kick over the crossbar.
Wednesday only managed two efforts on target but scored with both of them.
Barnsley head coach Valerien Ismael:
"We are disappointed to lose the game, especially when it's a derby game. We have to stay fair and say that Sheffield Wednesday were better and deserved to win.
"Even though we played badly, we should have been awarded two penalties. If the referee did his job, then maybe we could have won or at least stayed in the game.
"We are fifth with a play-off ticket. If you want to get in the play-offs, we need 75 points and at least four wins from the last eight games. Sheffield Wednesday played like a team who wanted to survive and had a fresher mindset than us."
Owls manager Darren Moore:
"I'm really pleased for everyone at the football club to get three much-needed points today. We wanted to finish the week strongly and I thought that we did that.
"Looking at the performance, we knew that we had to come here and be strong, resolute and dependable. Barnsley make it really difficult for teams coming here. We had to stand up against them and we did that.
"I've seen a slow improvement week after week and it was good to see the players apply themselves today. I'm really pleased with the players today. Feeling that adulation from the three points is really important for them."