Barnsley 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers: Sam Cosgrove's bizarre goal seals win for Tykes
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Wycombe goalkeeper Max Stryjek thought he should have been awarded a free-kick after colliding with Sam Cosgrove
A bizarre stoppage-time goal from Sam Cosgrove sealed a dramatic League One win for Barnsley at home to Wycombe.
The incident happened when Cosgrove closed down Wycombe goalkeeper Max Stryjek as he attempted to waste time by delaying picking up the ball.
Stryjek fell over and spilled the ball after bumping into Cosgrove, but no foul was given and the striker stroked home his first Tykes goal.
"It's the best goal I've scored," joked the 26-year-old to BBC Radio Sheffield.
In the aftermath of the goal, protests from Wycombe led to Harry Boyes being sent off after receiving a second yellow card for dissent, with Stryjek also booked for his protests.
How did Cosgrove score Barnsley's bizarre winner?
As the game ticked over into stoppage time, referee Darren Drysdale awarded Wycombe a drop ball after Stryjek had gone down following a Barnsley corner.
Stryjek attempted to waste time by delaying picking up the ball, allowing Cosgrove to close him down.
The Polish keeper eventually picked up the ball but fell over and spilled it after coming into light contact with the Barnsley striker.
Stryjek appealed for a free-kick but the referee waved play on, allowing Cosgrove to hit the ball into an empty net.
"I've been desperate for that first goal. I've been contributing in other ways on the pitch but to get that first goal is nice," added Cosgrove, who joined on a free transfer from Birmingham in September.
"Yeah there's a bit of contact but nowhere near enough for him to fall on the floor. There was no chance I wasn't going to put the ball in the back of the net and it is up to the ref then to make that decision.
"Keepers notoriously get a lot more decisions going for them, they can be a bit more vulnerable going up to get balls. But in that scenario like that there is absolutely no need to go down in that fashion, so kudos to the ref."
The win moves Barnsley up to seventh, two points outside the play-offs. Wycombe drop to 15th after a third successive league defeat.
It was Sam Cosgrove's first goal since scoring for Plymouth against Portsmouth in February
'Sucker punch hurts'
Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield said he was "disappointed, angry and so frustrated" for the supporters who made the long trip north.
"99 times out of a 100, however many times I've seen that type of incident in football where striker run into goalkeepers, it's usually given as a foul," he told BBC Three Counties Radio.
"We had a couple of really good opportunities in the last 10 minutes and I felt we looked like we might be the ones who might take all three points - you're filled with optimism stood watching your boys on the sideline and then suddenly the sucker punch, which hurts."
Barnsley manager Neill Collins said he had seen a similar incident during his playing days at Sheffield United.
"Steve Simonsen had the ball, went to throw it out and a guy ran into him and they scored," the Scot told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"It's an awkward one, a bizarre one, but ultimately when you look at the contact, was it enough for a keeper to go down?
"I don't want circumstances of the goal to take away from our performance and the result, we deserved it. We should have put the ball in maybe in more regular fashion but we got it in there in the end."
Referee Darren Drysdale (right) waved away Max Stryjek's appeals for a foul, allowing Sam Cosgrove to score
Barnsley goalkeeper Ben Killip (left) consoled an angry Stryjek at full time