Barnsley given hope in relegation fight hope after another home win

After three-and-a-half winless months in the Championship an instant return to League One seemed certain.

But the arrival of Gerhard Struber is having an impact and they delivered a second win in three home games – and in some style.

Their 5-3 victory over QPR was a thrilling performance, inspired by Conor Chaplin's hat-trick, and it moves them to just four points off safety going into a hectic period of the season.

Suddenly, the prospect of a fight against the drop in the second half of the season is looking realistic.

The Reds, who drew 1-1 with Reading in midweek, were not leading for only 13 minutes of this game as Chaplin scored twice in 18 minutes, either side of Luke Amos' leveller for QPR.

He completed his hat-trick early in the second half, before another Amos goal made it 3-2, only for Cauley Woodrow and Bambo Diaby goals to make the game safe.

Ilias Chair scored deep into injury-time for Rangers, but this was Barnsley's day.

Struber said: “I’m very, very happy for my team and also for every Barnsley fan. I think this was a very important game for us to create a good performance and also gain important points.

“It was a very difficult week and in the end we have four points. My players create together a very good game with a big engagement.

“It is our big challenge to stay in the league and I see today the mentality is not like a relegation team, which is very important for us.

"We have to deal with our defence in the next week. I have a plan for the next week over what we need to do to get better in the defence."

QPR manager Mark Warburton admitted they realised Oakwell would be a tough place to come to.

"We knew that Barnsley would be a team scrapping for their lives, with young, hungry players. We spoke as a group about what we would face,” he said.

"We can't defend like that. We've been really solid for three games but we've come and let ourselves down, it's as simple as that.

"We've had a few heated words in the dressing room so I haven't seen a replay of the penalty yet and it wouldn't be fair to comment yet. Our players were not happy, but I'm not sure any player would be happy to give away a penalty.”