Barnsley FC’s Carabao Cup run came to an end in the third round, as the Reds suffered a 7-0 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford in front of 6,500 travelling fans. The Reds started well, with a first minute run down the right by Barry Cotter beating Diego Dalot, allowing the wing back to hit a cross into the area which was collected by Bayindir. Three minutes later, the Reds won a free-kick, after Cotter was fouled on the edge of the area. The subsequent set piece was headed goalwards by Marc Roberts, but deflected off Manuel Ugarte away from target. After eleven minutes, Manchester United had their first chance of the game, when Marcus Rashford was forced to shoot from a tight angle in the box, however the defender Roberts rose high to head the ball away. The following corner kick saw a pinpoint shot by Antony deflected away by Luca Connell, eventually ricocheting out of harm’s way after some excellent work by the Reds’ backline. The Brazilian winger had a chance for the home side again three minutes later, being denied the opportunity to run in on goal by a first-class slide tackle from Corey O’Keeffe, who then shielded the ball for long enough to be able to produce a clearance. Manchester United then took the lead in the 16th minute, when Christian Eriksen picked up the ball in his own half, hitting a long ball to Marcus Rashford, who ran into the area, and slotted past Gabriel Slonina for the opener. The Reds attempted to rally back from this early setback, and had another great chance in the 23rd minute, when Cotter was again felled on the right flank. Luca Connell hit a trap pass to Adam Phillips from the set piece that followed, with the midfielder, making his 100th appearance for the Reds, hitting a powerful effort over the crossbar. The home side had a chance to double their advantage in the 31st minute, when Garnacho received the ball on the edge of the area after a flowing team move, however Cotter produced an excellent block to prevent the midfielder a goalscoring opportunity. Three minutes later, the Reds conceded a penalty when Slonina was forced to come off his line to prevent the approaching run of Antony. The winger then stepped up and converted with a shot to the right of the Barnsley number one, to produce Manchester United’s second goal of the afternoon. The Reds continued to battle through the half in search of a fightback, and came close with a minute to play in the first 45, when a well-hit Phillips free-kick from 25 yards out was hit against the Manchester United wall. However, the home side then tripled their lead on the stroke of half time, with Alejandro Garnacho picking up the ball in the area and poking the ball into the net past Slonina from close range, meaning that Darrell Clarke’s men went into half time chasing a three-goal deficit. HALF TIME: Manchester United 2–0 Barnsley FC The home side extended their advantage four minutes at the restart, with Garnacho securing a brace with a run from just inside his half, followed by him slotting the ball past Slonina for Manchester United’s fourth of the evening. Manchester United then produced a fifth goal in the 57th minute, with Alejandro Garnacho picking up the ball from a stray Matty Craig pass, delivering a through ball, who scored his second goal of the night with a finish inside the area. Gabriel Slonina was on hand in the 64th minute to produce an excellent fingertip save from a powerful effort outside the area from Antony. This save appeared to buoy Darrell Clarke’s men into a response just three minutes later, with substitute Kyran Lofthouse hitting a shot from distance on the right flank which meandered around the outside the post and went out of play. Connell then came close to scoring a first of the evening for Barnsley after 70 minutes, with the Barnsley skipper belting a shot from thirty yards out which was targeted narrowly wide. However, the Reds were unable to stop the home side scoring a sixth goal after eighty minutes, with Christian Eriksen getting onto the end of a Bruno Fernandes ball in the box to beat Slonina. And four minutes later, Eriksen got onto the end of a team move in the area to slot home a right-footed finish. And despite the Reds’ best efforts, they were unable to obtain a consolation goal in the remaining minutes of the half, and a cup run which had provided plenty of impetus for the squad’s league campaign came to an end at the third round stage. FULL TIME: Manchester United 7-0 Barnsley FC Barnsley XI: Slonina, Cotter (Lofthouse, 63), Roberts (McCarthy, 45), de Gevigney, O’Keeffe, Phillips, Jalo (Humphrys, 45), Earl, Watters (Cosgrove, 56), Yoganathan (Craig, 45), Connell (C) Subs not used: Killip, Russell, Benson, Marsh Continue reading...