Another Playoff Disaster
Saturday, 13 May, 2000
Birmingham 0-4 Barnsley
An early goal from Barnsley striker Neil Shipperley and two second-half strikes from Bruce Dyer
gave the Tykes a great chance of winning a Wembley date for the first time in their history.
The low drive from Shipperley stunned Birmingham keeper Thomas Myhre on 12 minutes and for the
rest of the first-half, Birmingham, enjoying home advantage, were the more adventurous of the two sides.
But two goals in 12 minutes at the start of the second half for substitute Bruce Dyer put a
massive dent in Birmingham's hopes of reaching the Premiership for another year.
Craig Hignett put the game - and maybe the overall result - well beyond the home side with a
goal on 84 minutes.
Francis said: "It was a sickening result and terrible for the fans. I never thought it possible
that any of my teams which have been built on a solid back four would concede four goals in such a vital game.
"It was an awful day, but how do you legislate for such a result?
"Unfortunately the pressure got to several Birmingham players who could not respond to the situation."
Barnsley manager Dave Bassett was delighted with the outcome but also surprised by the wide
margin of the victory against what he rated a strong Birmingham defence.
He said: "It was an outstanding performance on the day as we had some early problems in losing
Robbie Van Der Laan and Geoff Thomas.
Unfortunately the pressure got to several Birmingham players who could not respond
to the situation
Birmingham manager Trevor Francis
But we battled well and in the end achieved an outstanding win."
He added: "But this is only half-time and football, as I know, is a funny old game when anything
can happen but we are in the driving seat.
Barnsley suffered an immediate setback when they lost the services of Robbie Van der Laan in
the opening minute with a leg injury.
He was replaced by Geoff Thomas and Barnsley's manager Dave Bassett immediately reorganised
his team by pushing Craig Hignett into a forward role alongside Neil Shipperley.
Birmingham, keen to take full advantage of their home status, immediately launched a series
of positive attacks.
But in the 12th minute it was Barnsley who took a shock lead.
Darren Purse pushed the ball across his penalty area when under pressure and Darren Barnard
intercepted before quickly putting Shipperley in possession.
The Barnsley striker wasted no time in hammering a low 25-yard shot which hit the inside of
the post and flew into the net to give the Tykes a vital lead.
Birmingham made strenuous efforts to get back on level terms but Barnsley's defence was in a
dominant mood.
Hectic spell
There was one hectic spell when the two skippers, Barnsley's Nicky Eaden and Martin O'Connor
were booked in successive minutes - Eaden impeded Stan Lazaridis, while O'Connor received a yellow card for a heavy tackle
on Thomas.
Thomas continued after treatment but the substitute was far from fully fit and he was subsequently
replaced by Bruce Dyer.
Birmingham continued to have most of the attacking play and only a brilliant save from Kevin
Miller prevented Bryan Hughes from equalising with a pile-driver from just outside the area.
Barnsley doubled their advantage within just three minutes of the restart however, thanks to
a goal from Bruce Dyer.
On 60 minutes Dyer bagged his brace and a fourth from Craig Hignett dashed Birmingham City's
hopes and gave Barnsley an almost unassailable advantage going into next week's second leg at Oakwell on Thursday.
Teams:
Birmingham:Myhre, Rowett, Purse, Holdsworth, O'Connor, Grainger,
Hughes, M. Johnson, Lazaridis, A. Johnson, Furlong.
Subs: Adebola, Ndlovu, Bass, Gill, Marcelo.
Barnsley:Miller,
Chettle, Brown, Morgan, Eaden, Barnard, Tinkler, Appleby, Hignett, Van Der Laan, Shipperley.
Subs: Sheron, Dyer, M. Bullock,
Barker, Thomas.
Referee: M Halsey (Welwyn Garden City)
Playoff Disaster Part 2
Thursday, 18 May, 2000
Barnsley 1-2 Birmingham
Barnsley win 5-2 on aggregate
Birmingham may have gained slight revenge on Barnsley but it was not enough to prevent the Tykes
booking their place in the Division One play-off final on May 29.
The Yorkshire side's boss Dave Bassett will have the honour of leading his side out in front
of the Twin Towers of Wembley for the first time in their history as only Ipswich stand in their way of a return to the promised
land of the Premiership.
The Blues regained their pride with a 2-1 victory on the night, but it was never going to be
enough after the damage was done in their 4-0 first-leg mauling at St Andrews on Saturday.
We now want to win at Wembley, there's no point coming second - I've done that twice
and I don't want to make it a hat-trick
Barnsley manager Dave Bassett
After the match, Barnsley manager Dave Bassett said: "The players have worked hard throughout
the season, and with Barnsley never having been to Wembley it's great for club; it lifts the town and the whole area.
"We now want to win at Wembley. There's no point coming second - I've done that twice and I
don't want to make it a hat-trick."
With an Everest-like task ahead for the visitors it was no surprise to see manager Trevor Francis
deploying three strikers.
Bassett had shored up his defence with three centre-backs to try and nullify the threat.
The game warmed up nicely as the Yorkshire side started well and continued to drop deep and
defend in numbers, mindful of their four-goal advantage.
Birmingham should have opened the scoring when Hughes fed Marcelo down the right, and the Brazilian
curled in a delicious cross for Paul Furlong who stole in ahead of defender Chris Morgan but could not divert his diving header
goalwards.
The deadlock was broken by the visitors, though, as Birmingham gave themselves a glimmer of
hope with a deserved goal.
Michael Johnson whipped over a cross into the Barnsley danger zone, and Gary Rowett nodded it
into the corner.
Barnsley almost hit back four minutes before the break when Neil Shipperley's shot was blocked
by the goalkeeper, and Dyer could only fire the rebound over the bar.
Birmingham knew what they had to do after the restart if they were to resurrect their promotion
hopes - but they were always going to be prone to the counter-attack as the gaps appeared.
The final nail in their coffin came from the feet of Dyer on 54 minutes after Hignett and Shipperley
linked up down the right flank.
Shipperley took the former Middlesbrough star's pass before waiting for Dyer's run and slipping
an inch perfect ball between the defenders.
Dyer kept his composure before coolly slotting the ball past Myhre to level the scores on the
night and surely end the contest.
Cheeky Chip
Birmingham pressed on, though. O'Connor fired down Miller's throat, and Dyer almost had a second
for the hosts - but his cheeky chip was just to high.
It was a sign of character and professional pride that the Blues kept plugging away, and they
were rewarded on 74 minutes when Jerry Gill fired over a cross.
Marcelo was first to the ball to bundle it over the line to make it 5-2 on aggregate.
The goal took the edge off the Barnsley celebrations, but you got the feeling they could step
up a gear if needed and were perhaps a little watchful of picking up a knock that would keep any one of them out of the final.
As the game crept to a glorious close for the home fans it all proved too much for one Tyke
who ran the length of the pitch in just socks and shoes before being rugby-tackled by amused stewards.
But the final whistle was not far behind and set up what could be another amazing chapter in
Barnsley's history as the fans celebrated with the obligatory pitch invasion.
Teams:
Barnsley: Miller, Morgan, Chettle, Brown, Barnard, Eaden, Appleby, Tinkler,
Hignett, Shipperley, Dyer. Subs: Jones, Sheron, T. Bullock, M. Bullock, Curtis.
Birmingham: Myhre, Rowett, Gill, Purse, Holdsworth, Hughes, O'Connor, M. Johnson, Furlong, Ndlovu,
Marcelo. Subs: Bass, Marsh, A. Johnson, Lazaridis, Luntala. Referee: Michael Dean (Wirral)
_____________________________________________________________________
Birmingham 1 Watford 0 (Agg: 1-1, 6-7 on
pens)
Watford are just 90 minutes from a return to the top flight for the first time in 11 years after
reaching the play-off final in the most heartbreaking fashion.
Hornets manager Graham Taylor is now just a Wembley showdown against Bolton away from masterminding
the seventh promotion of his career and the second in successive seasons.
But after 120 nerve-wracking minutes, it eventually took 16 penalties to decide the tie with
Watford keeper Alec Chamberlain the hero and City midfielder Chris Holland - number 13 after 13 successful spot-kicks - the
lonely, forlorn figure.
Taylor had gone into this game having prepared meticulously as his side had practised spot-kicks
at the end of their practice sessions since Sunday's first leg.
Watford were protecting a slender 1-0 advantage afforded to them by former Zaire international
Michel Ngonge in the first leg at Vicarage Road.
But that lead was wiped out after just 110 seconds as fellow African Dele Adebola, Birmingham's
giant Nigerian striker, levelled the aggregate scores on the night.
Adebola was in the starting line up for the first time in six matches following a series of
niggly injuries and despite not being 100% fit.
But as City boss Trevor Francis was determined to go gunning for glory, so it ensured the 23-year-old
forward was in the starting line up from the first whistle.
He made an instant impact, plundering his 17th goal of the season, but probably the most bizarre
of his career.
As Watford attempted to clear a second minute corner, the ball fell to Bryan Hughes who pumped
a header back into the danger zone.
Peter Ndlovu looped a chance over the advancing defence and Chamberlain, only to see the ball
strike the left hand post.
As the ball trickled across the goal line Watford centre-back Steve Palmer attempted to clear,
but he only succeeded in striking the hulking figure of Adebola - but more importantly his elbow.
However, the lack of ideas from both sides, not least because of the nerves and the tension,
lead to a turgid stalemate until 10 minutes from the end of normal time.
There was a flurry of yellow cards, including a red for Birmingham centre-back David Holdsworth,
until City desperately strived for the game winner.
But they were denied by the outstanding Chamberlain who pulled off several outstanding stops,
as well as two in injury time, to finally send the game into the dreaded penalty shoot-out.
After Peter Kennedy had blazed home the first, former Watford striker Paul Furlong saw his effort
saved by Chamberlain.
But the situation was levelled with the very next 12 yarder as Watford's Steve Palmer struck
his effort wide.
The next 12 penalties all found their target, with Richard Johnson, Darren Bazeley, Micah Hyde,
Robert Page, Allan Smart and Alon Hazan all finding the net for Watford.
While for the Blues, Martin Grainger, Gary Rowett, Lee Bradbury, Hughes, Darren Purse, and even
keeper Kevin Poole were the heroes for the home side.
But then it came down to poor Holland, whose right foot effort lacked any power, allowing Chamberlain
to save with ease and to spark emotions on both sides of the fence.
For Birmingham there were tears of sadness and heads in hands, while for Watford it was tears
of joy and heads held high.
While Watford boss Taylor can go on to a Wembley final with Bolton, for Birmingham boss Francis
he now faces the most important decision of his career.
After an illustrious playing career at club and international level, and following three years
in charge at St Andrews, Francis may decide that this is the end of the road for him.
His 12 months rolling contract is again up for renewal, but a lot will depend on just how much
money he is given by the City board to spend on transfers in a bid to end Birmingham's 13-year exile outside the top flight.
Teams
Birmingham: Poole, Rowett, Grainger, Adebola (Holland 64), Holdsworth, Johnson,
McCarthy (Purse 57), O'Connor (Bradbury 99), Furlong, Hughes, Ndlovu.Sent Off: Holdsworth (54).
Booked: Holdsworth, Grainger.
Goals: Adebola 2.
Watford: Chamberlain, Bazeley, Kennedy, Page, Palmer, Gibbs, Ngonge (Smart 87),
Hyde, Mooney, Johnson, Wright (Hazan 87).
Subs Not Used: Day.
Booked: Palmer, Kennedy, Ngonge, Gibbs, Smart.
Agg (1-1) Watford win 7-6 on penalties
Att: 29,100
Ref: D Pugh (Wirral).
