Blackpool 0 Barnsley 1: McGeehan's strike sees Reds give fans early Christmas present

The Reds had gone four games without a win in League One, form which had seen them slip out of the play-off positions, but they put that right with a controlled 1-0 win at Blackpool.

Cameron McGeehan scored the only goal of the game just before the hour-mark and it ensures Daniel Stendel's men will spend Christmas back in the top six.

A packed away end were giving renditions of Jingle Bells as their side put them in the festive spirit and they could have been celebrating an even bigger win in difficult conditions on the Fylde Coast.

The pitch at Bloomfield Road was so bad that it helped Stendel learn a new English word '“ muddy '“ but the Reds got the job done and would have won at a canter had they brought their shooting boots.

'I think it was a very good away game from us,' the German boss said. 'We had patience from the start and a lot of big chances'.

'It's not easy to win at Blackpool '“ the pitch was very difficult to play good football [on]. But my team played good and deserved to win today.

'I think it's not important to dominate the game every time. We had two or three big chances to score in the first half. It was a good test of the mentality of the squad.

'We showed last week and also this week that we're getting better and I hope we can give a present to our supporters after winning this game.

'You can feel in the dressing room, we are all happy that we win this game. We work very hard every week.'

They had three big chances to have taken a half-time lead, but Cauley Woodrow stabbed just wide, Mamadou Thiam scuffed his shot from a good position and then Kieffer Moore uncharacteristically put a free header straight at Mark Howard.

McGeehan produced an important clearance from a Blackpool corner early in the second half before making an even bigger contribution at the other end on the hour mark when he nodded home from close range following good work by Brad Potts.

Woodrow and Moore both had further chances to make it a day to remember but in the end they held out comfortably to leave their jubilant fans full of Christmas joy.

Blackpool: Howard, Daniels, Heneghan, Tilt (O'Connor 46), Feeney (Guy 75), Spearing, Pritchard, Bola, Thompson, O'Sullivan (Nottingham 70), Gnanduillet. 

Unused subs: Delfouneso, Boney, Davies, Bunney. 

Barnsley: Davies, Cavare, Lindsay, Pinnock, Pinillos, Potts, McGeehan, Mowatt (Dougall 90), Thiam (Bahre 80), Moore, Woodrow (Adeboyejo 90).

Unused subs: Greatorex, Moncur, Jackson, Brown. 

Referee: Anthony Backhouse

Attendance: 4,054