CHRISTMAS card scenes at Easter, blizzards after your hot-cross buns. Things went seriously out of sync at Barnsley.

At Arctic ice station Oakwell, Sheffield United toughed out a result, trampling over a home record which would have been Barnsley's pride and joy but for the FA Cup.

A big goal from Billy Sharp, the kid United sold to Scunthorpe and bought back as a natural scorer, brought a huge result for both sides.

Starry-eyed Blades dreamers will say four wins in four, brings the play-offs a few inches closer. The realists will know the more probable outcome is extended employment for manager on probation Kevin Blackwell.

For Barnsley the prospect is of a trip to Wembley with continuing concerns about their Championship future packed among the new suits, new strip and kitbags.

What did you think of the game? Post your comment below.

The difference between United and their near neighbours in the end was Sharp- the lad who just a few weeks back couldn't buy a goal.

Blackwell didn't hold back in bigging him up. It's three goals in three games for Sharp in a run of four straight wins.

"£2 million for him. I'd have paid four," the United boss stressed.

The same manager left £4m buy James Beattie on the bench for 66 minutes at Barnsley.

And he might have regretted it after the sitter Rob Hulse messed up in the first half.

A free header on the brink of the six-yard box following a good centre from the well impressive David Cotterill and it should have been 1-0 to the visitors.

It wasn't much of a game before the break. Barnsley had plenty of the ball and Diego Leon looked the class act among them and might well have scored with a drive from around 30 yards which forced Paddy Kenny to dive to his top right corner to glove away.

Barnsley began to suspect their luck was out when Gary Speed decked Stephen Foster in the area.

Ref Lee Probert missed it. Barnsley boss Simon Davey didn't. Not good for the FA's 'respect a ref' campaign.

Davey took it hard.

"I spoke to the referee at half-time and told him it was a penalty. I even tried to show him the video but he wasn't having any of it," the Barnsley manager explained.

"There's nothing you can do, they either give them or they don't. They can't rescind anything, they can't change the circumstances. It's just disappointing as manager when you know it was a definite penalty.

"Gary Speed was all over Stephen Foster, he's pulling him down, he's pulled his neck. He was trying to get the shirt off his back by the look of it, but unfortunately four officials didn't see it. 16,000 others did."

Both teams picked up casualties before the break with Barnsley centre-half Dennis Souza sustaining a cut eye and headache and Blades right-back Del Geary limping out of it.

John Halls was a one-for-one swap in the Blades ranks, Marciano van Homoet prompted a back-four revamp for Barnsley.

A low- grade first half had to improve and sure enough it did. United skipper Chris Morgan, Barnsley born and bred, hacked a Kayode Odejayi header off Kenny's line just after the re-start.

Davey reflected: "From minute one we dominated.
More on next page


READ MORE
Blades set for late play-offs challenge - Sharp.
Renaissance man reviving Premiership dream.
Football headlines.
Latest football gossip.
All sport categories.

Football headlines.
Latest football gossip.
All sport categories.