Barnsley charge into decider

Huddersfield 1 Barnsley 3 (Agg: 2-3)

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Andy Ritchie’s men made the 18-mile journey to the Galpharm Stadium and recorded a richly-deserved 3-1 victory.

Three goals in 20 second-half minutes secured an aggregate 3-2 success and set up a play-off final showdown with Swansea on May 27 at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

A penalty from Paul Hayes shortly before the hour mark, and further strikes from Paul Reid and Daniel Nardiello, rewarded Barnsley’s dominance while Jonathan Worthington’s 65th-minute equaliser was not enough for Huddersfield.

Since their flirtation with the Premiership in 1997-98 and play-off final defeat two seasons later, Barnsley have been floundering.

But their renaissance is gathering steady pace under Ritchie’s astute guidance and they will head to the Principality in confident mood next weekend.

The Tykes arrived late at the Galpharm Stadium due to heavy traffic congestion and kick-off was subsequently delayed by 15 minutes.

HUDDERSFIELD: Rachubka, Adams, Nathan Clarke, McIntosh, Holdsworth, Schofield, Hudson (Brandon 82), Worthington, Taylor-Fletcher, Graham (Abbott 78), Booth.

BARNSLEY: Colgan, Heckingbottom, Kay, Reid, Hassell, Devaney, Howard, McPhail, Hayes, Richards (Wright 86), Nardiello (Shuker 90).

Ref: C Foy (Merseyside).