Barnsley are like a wounded animal

Barnsley are just one of two teams that went into last weekend with a higher goal against count than AFCB. Bolton were the other team before you race to look it up. However, just because they have conceded a few goals does not make them easy pickings. I fear that they could be more like a wounded animal, which is what Huddersfield found out when they lost to the Tykes.

What should give Bournemouth fans some confidence though is that Barnsley have not yet won away from home and defensive frailties could open some doors for the Cherries on Tuesday night.  While David Flitcroft has brought in winger McCourt and Norwegian striker Pedersen, it is at the back where they have had their problems. Pollitt has now had two games in goal for them and is likely to still be getting used to the players in front of him. Kennedy, Wiseman, Mvoto and Golbourne have been the back four most often although they have failed to keep a clean sheet except for the first round Carling Cup game against Scunthorpe, which they went on to win 5:4 after penalties. They were not so lucky in the second round shipping five goals at home to that team down the road!

While all that might sound confidence boosting to the Cherries, everyone has their day and the home win against Huddersfield already points towards Barnsley starting to turn around their form. There was further evidence of this with a close game against Nottingham Forest at the weekend where they ended up on the wrong side of a five goal thriller. Ian Henderson scored the winner for Forest as late as the 84th minute and Barnsley were away from home.

Another win for the Tykes would move them towards mid-table and suddenly they have not had such a poor start to the season. I think these sort of games are the most dangerous for AFCB. Barnsley are often involved in high scoring games and the Cherries should aim to play without leaving the back door open. A bit of confidence and Barnsley could be the ones to further dent our proud home record.

The Nottingham Forest game shows that Barnsley are improving and don't just look to defend away from home for 90 minutes. Barnsley took two of their chances, O'Grady from the penalty spot and Cywka with an absolute howitzer of a free kick, which I hope he does not repeat at Dean Court. 

For a further insight on the challenge in front of the Cherries tonight, drop in on Cherry Chimes' Rival Lines where you'll find out such things as why Liverpool and Man Utd are more of a threat to Barnsley than Sheffield Wednesday or Leeds Utd. Ian Wilkinson, the On The Ponty End Blogger provides the low down on the Tykes and has some valuable advise for their slow running mascot! 

League form going into tonight's game:

AFCB: W, L, W, L,W,L

Barnsley: L,L,D,L,W,L