Barnsley 2, Newcastle United 2
Dec 14 2009 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal
IT was like Dunkirk on wheels in South Yorkshire on Saturday night, with seemingly every coach and minibus on Tyneside commandeered to evacuate the footsoldiers of the Toon Army from Barnsley.
About half an hour after the final whistle an apparently never-ending armada – reinforced by the odd white van and an eight-seater taxi on a busman’s holiday – rumbled behind the away stand carrying most of the 6,987 supporters from the site of a disappointing setback.
Soon Newcastle United’s players emerged from the dressing rooms to board their party bus, laden with over £200 worth of pizza and ready to take them off to the secret destination where they would begin their Christmas celebrations.
The expressions on their faces did not speak of men overflowing with festive spirit – at least not yet.
That was because the Magpies had just done two things they had not experienced in a long time, and failed to do something they had not managed for even longer.
For the first time in 423 minutes of football their miserly defence had been breached – not once, but twice.
After seven straight wins, they were leaving without a victory to toast.
They should not have been surprised – the only occasion Oakwell’s throwback of a stadium has witnessed a Newcastle league victory was around the time when the music being piped out over the stands pre-match was in the charts – 26 years earlier.
The historical footnotes were only part of the frustration, the nature of the defeat was more painful. To concede a lead once is unfortunate, twice is careless.
For the second lapse to come three minutes from time can be soul-destroying.
Yet perhaps when the cold and fog of December have been replaced by the sunshine of summer, Newcastle might look back on this as an unfortunate setback, escaped from with pride intact, en route to a far more significant victory. Dunkirk was an away defeat, Oakwell at least was a draw.
While consistency is anathema to the chasing pack, four points away from home in a week represents a decent tally. A draw is more than either West Bromwich Albion or Cardiff City left with earlier in the campaign.
