Barnsley 0 Preston North End 3: Reds' night goes from bad to worse

Then they had to play Preston and it got even worse.

Reports emerged in the national media about two hours before kick-off that Diaby had recently failed a doping test following the defeat at Blackburn in Gerhard Struber's first game in charge.

Barnsley declined to comment but the 22-year-old's absence from the 3-0 defeat to North End, as well as Saturday's loss at Bristol City, looks ominous.

Diaby has reportedly vowed to clear his name and it is a story that is sure to rumble on.

For now it leaves Struber with an extra headache, which will have been made worse by the worst result of his short tenure.

The Reds will be glad to see the back of Alex Neil's side this season.

It was the 5-1 defeat in October's reverse fixture that saw off Daniel Stendel and a three-goal blitz in 45 minutes handed Struber a first defeat at Oakwell.

Things might have taken a different course had Conor Chaplin put a fifth-minute chance away when Jacob Brown played him in, but Declan Rudd made a low save.

From then on it was all Preston as they put the game to bed before the break.

Tom Barkhuizen opened the scoring in the 19th minute when he fired home with a first-time effort following a good move that involved Josh Harrop and Darnell Fisher.

Harrop was involved again in Preston's second 11 minutes before half-time when his shot was saved by Reds goalkeeper Sami Radlinger, but Daniel Johnson was on hand to convert the rebound.

Barnsley had the opportunity to give themselves hope but Marcel Ritzmaier found Rudd in good form again as he produced a good stop.

Any chance the hosts had was extinguished moments before the whistle as Barkhuizen struck again with a low shot that Radlinger could only get a hand to.

This game was moved forward owing to Barnsley's participation in Saturday's FA Cup and it was the chance for them to move within a point of safety. It ended up being a damaging on the pitch and even more off it.

Barnsley: Radlinger, J Williams, Halme, Andersen, Ludewig, Thomas (Styles 61), Dougall (Woodrow 54), Ritzmaier, Mowatt, Brown, Chaplin (Schmidt 75). Unused subs: Collins, B Williams, Sibbick, Simoes

Preston: Rudd, Fisher, Bauer, Davies, Raffert, Browne, Pearson, Johnson (Potts 67), Harrop, Barkhuizen (Nugent 74), Sinclair (Maguire 67). Unused subs: Ripley, Clarke, Ledson, Stockley

Attendance: 12,207

Referee: Jeremy Simpson