Barnsley (U18s) 2-2 Charlton Athletic (U18s)

Barnsley (U18s) 2-2 Charlton Athletic (U18s)

Professional Development League Play-Off Final

Saturday 20th May 2023

Oh what a feeling and what an afternoon!

Less than 24 hours after a dramatic night under the Oakwell floodlights which will be talked about for years to come, this was another absolute belter of a match where a Barnsley team CREATED HISTORY and memories they’ll treasure for the rest of their lives as the U18s were crowned Professional Development League National Champions for 2022/23.

On a sun-drenched South Yorkshire afternoon, it was a pulsating game as the pendulum swung back and forth throughout almost three hours of unpredictable drama - even by Play-Off standards, and players on both teams gave it absolutely everything in a quality football game that will live long in the memory.

There were nerves. There was tension. There was hope. There was anguish. 

It was the ultimate emotional roller-coaster complete with joy, despair, frustration and delight at different stages for everyone involved until, eventually, utter pandemonium and an explosion of noise and euphoria upon the season-defining moment right at the end when Rogan Ravenhill beat away Kai Enslin’s effort to win it for Barnsley in a penalty shoot-out which went all the way to sudden death!

It was some afternoon so sit tight, fasten your seat-belts - this is exactly what happened!

With Barnsley having won the PDL North and Charlton being PDL South champions; the two teams having scored over 160 goals combined over the course of the season, this was always likely to be a closely-fought contest that could go the distance. A meeting of the two best Category Two teams in the country right now, both proven winners with plenty of memories to savior already this term, but both equally determined to conquer the other and with their eyes fixed on the most cherished prize of becoming National Champions.

As the two teams made their way out onto the Oakwell turf on the back of some banging pre-match warm-up tunes (kudos to the PA man for ‘Wonderwall’), it wasn’t surprising that with so much at stake, the early stages were a bit tentative, a bit scrappy with little in the way of incident or action at either end inside the first 15 minutes.

Charlton initially settled better and looked lively in the opening few minutes but soon enough Barnsley took charge, got a grip on things, and just past the quarter-hour mark came a sustained period of pressure in which they created a flurry of quickfire openings as Fabio Jalo firstly scuffed a shot wide after a good run into the box by Vimal Yoganathan, then Josh McKay unleashed a powerful drive which seemed to hit Josiah Dyer and go over from just a few yards out on the back of a passage of play where the Reds moved the ball around the final third quite purposefully, before the best chance of the lot saw a shot finally put on target after Fabio Jalo tricked his man, burst away, but saw his attempt parried over by the visiting ‘keeper.

It was aggressive stuff; with purpose and with meaning, but still that opening goal remained elusive - and on the half-hour mark came another near miss when Fabio Jalo (always a threat at this level) flashed a ball through the goalmouth which narrowly missed Josiah Dyer.

Charlton will probably admit themselves they weren’t at their best in the first half. 

They certainly didn’t look like a team that thrashed Sheffield United with such devastating ruthlessness to book their place in this Play-Off Final and even when they won set-pieces in high areas, they never seemed to be in too much of a rush to get on with things.

Barnsley looked far brighter. They had the urgency and tempo to go with their superior possession and soon enough, they were literally handed the chance to take the lead as Hayden Pickard’s cross was handled by a Charlton defender. There was a brief delay; the referee giving himself a split second or two to think about what he’d just witnessed, before he pointed to the spot. Penalty. And no great appeals from the visiting to say otherwise.

Step forward, Theo Chapman to give Barnsley the lead - and with one swing of his right foot he obliged; a little stutter in his run-up but sending the ball low, hard, and just past the ‘keeper who guessed correctly, but couldn’t keep his shot out.

Cue the celebrations; Rogan Ravenhill kneeling and then leaping into the air with a little fist pump for good measure as the ball hit the net and ‘Zombie Nation’ played aloud across Oakwell. Screams of ‘Yesssssssss’ in the stands, Theo Chapman being mobbed by his team-mates and Jono Bland (sensible as ever) reassuring everyone to get their focus, stay switched on and go again.

The breakthrough was made but there was still a long way to go!

As half-time approached Barnsley continued to look strong and they soon so nearly had what would have been a stunning second goal when Hayden Pickard’s scintillating strike on the half-volley from the edge of the area looked as if it was going to do the business. It was on target. It was going in - and then out of nowhere came Ahmed Kone who leaped towards his top corner and clawed it away. Josiah Dyer followed up on the rebound and although there were semi-celebrations, everyone soon realised the linesman (correctly) had his flag up for offside so the goal wouldn’t count.

Oakwell drew its breath as the first half came to an end.

There was no ‘Halfway There and Living On A Prayer’ by Bon Jovi on the half-time playlist; instead some Billy Ocean, and perhaps inspired by ‘Red Light Spells Danger’ which played just as the second period was about to get underway, Charlton suddenly looked much better and more up for it than at any point in the first half.

They’d already gone close when Rogan Ravenhill was required to save from a visiting striker at his near-post before they found an equaliser as Henry Rylah planted home a header at close-range after Daniel Kanu’s run, burst into the box and subsequent cross which was hooked up nicely for his team-mate to connect with.

Now at 1-1, everything was in the balance again.

It was starting to get tense around Oakwell and as the hour-mark came, Barnsley caught a second wind and battered their opponents with another flurry of quick chances. Fabio Jalo and Josiah Dyer got in each other’s way and allowed the Charlton ‘keeper to collect a loose ball after some good work out wide by Josh McKay who hooked up a fine cross towards the back-post, before a bigger chance came when Jalo burst into the box and hammered a vicious low drive into the near-post which had to be turned behind for a corner.

The pressure was building and from Hayden Pickard’s resulting corner, Vimal Yoganthan connected; the header was good, sadly the ball went wide. Still 1-1. 

Charlton were on the ropes once again and just a minute later came a proper ‘heart in mouth’ moment for them when Fabio Jalo sprung the offside trap and burst through. It looked dubious but he didn’t care, and when Ahmed Kone came to meet him he was sent tumbling by the Charlton ‘keeper. All eyes on the referee who waved the appeal away, cue plenty of boos by those who were convinced otherwise, and with the ball still loose, Jalo instinctively got to his feet and hooked a ball across the goalmouth from the byline which narrowly missed Josiah Dyer.

The goal Barnsley craved felt like it was getting closer and closer and with the intensity building, tensions were also simmering, and tempers soon boiled over when Fabio Jalo was released down the right again and tussled with Harvey Kedwell. The pair grappled to get to the ball first before they went to ground, aimed a bit towards each other, and eventually went head-to-head right infront of the nose of the linesman.

What would the punishment be?

Over came the referee to deal with the situation and, choosing a sensible course of action rather than spoiling the afternoon for the pair of them, both received a yellow card each.

The tension now felt even more palpable and as minutes ticked by and the game edged ever closer towards the end of normal-time, there were chances at both ends; Rogan Ravenhill using his leg to deny Ryan Huge (who looked a constant menace for Charlton along with his strike-partner) whilst at the other end, a through ball opened up the Addicks and Fabio Jalo saw a shot blocked after the ‘keeper did well to react initially and knock it away from the feet of Emmaisa Nzondo who was bearing down on goal.

Any mistake now could have been so costly and then deep into injury-time, ‘MY GOODNESS’ as Jeff Stelling might scream on Soccer Saturday, because Charlton went so, so close to a winner as the ball dropped dangerously at the back-post for a striker who turned and unleashed a shot that was goalbound until Jono Bland threw himself infront of to keep it out. 

Exceptional, brave and so important! That could have been it! That could have been the game! That could have been the championship!

And the skipper’s scream in anger, fist-pumped, red-faced and raging with annoyance at what he’d just had to do was only too visible - he DID NOT want to lose. And if that had gone in, it would have been it, no question whatsoever.

And so it went to extra-time…

A reset. A chance to regroup. A few minutes for some tired legs which were already starting to cramp up to get prepared for 30 more minutes.

And even though the opening stages of the first period of extra-time were mild in comparison to all the drama of the previous 90, in the 103rd minute came a moment which made Barnsley ‘gulp’ in anguish and despair.

That’s because Charlton took the lead. 

Nathan Asiimwe’s cross from the right was placed perfectly towards the edge of the six-yard box where Oliver Hobden rose highest and connected with power - sending the ball into the top corner. There was nothing Rogan Ravenhill could do. It was in. It was a goal. Charlton now had the lead. They were now 15 minutes away from being crowned National Champions and suddenly there were a few moments of deep concern.

But THIS IS BARNSLEY F.C.

And after the season these lads have had - becoming the first ever team from this club to win the PDL North title, they do not give up. They fight until the end. They dig in when it’s needed and maybe inspired by ‘One Day Like This’ by Elbow (the half-time in extra-time song of choice - kudos to the PA man again; he had a good performance) they weren’t going to lie down and give up on their dreams. 

It was time to show character, courage and rise to become champions!

Despite Charlton’s best attempts at gamesmanship; squandering time, feigning injury and wasting seconds whenever they could, the Reds continued to show heart and glean courage from one another. Leo Farrell (on early in the second period of extra-time) looked right up for it and his bit of creativity to hook a ball into the penalty area, saw Barnsley win a corner.

And then, step up, Matty Doyle!

Onto the pitch just a few minutes earlier himself, he leapt high to meet Hayden Pickard’s brilliant ball into a crowded six-yard box and towering above everyone, his powerful connection sent Oakwell wild as his header crashed past the ‘keeper and into the net. Cue euphoria. Cue ‘Zombie Nation’ once more. Cue celebrations. Cue relief. Cue dreams on the horizon again. A massive, massive equaliser to make it 2-2 and give Barnsley the reward they wanted so much!

Charlton were crestfallen. They’d given everything in this game themselves, but had come unstuck and after FIVE additional minutes of extra-time (such was the gravity of their time-wasting), the full-time whistle went.

Three hours of exhilarating, adrenaline-pumped football, the proverbial emotional rollercoaster and the National Champions - the most prestigious prize at this level for these players - would be defined by the next few minutes. Take your breath!

Barnsley had the momentum and their huddle ahead of the spot-kicks which included EVERYONE on the coaching staff showed they were in this TOGETHER. As they broke away from it, there were screams of ‘COME ON’ and a few roars. Their belief and courage shone.

It was time to shine!

Jono Bland won the toss; Barnsley would take first and the spot-kicks would be at the Ponte End and after a slight delay as the referee moved away the groups of youths who’d gathered directly behind the goal, the shoot-out finally got underway.

Hayden Pickard… SCORED. 1-0.

Karoy Anderson… SCORED. 1-1.

Rafael Monteiro… SCORED. 2-1.

Daniel Kanu… SCORED. 2-2.

Fabio Jalo… SCORED (with a very short run-up). 3-2.

Harvey Kedwell… SCORED (just - and I seriously only mean ‘just’). 3-3.

Leo Farrell… SCORED. 4-3.

Toby Bower… SCORED. 4-4.

Emmaisa Nzondo… SCORED. 5-4.

Patrick Casey… SCORED (and he had to score). 5-5.

And so to sudden death it went…

The Barnsley trialist… SCORED. 6-5.

And then stepped up Kai Enslin whose drive was low and to the right of Rogan Ravenhill who guessed correctly, beat the ball away and that was it.

Oakwell exploded!

The adrenaline rush in that moment. The euphoria. The spine-tingling sensation of achievement. The absolute pandemonium. Utter delirium! The culmination of a season’s work. The DEFINING moment of EVERYTHING.

All those hours on the training ground. The hundreds of sacrifices they’ve made to get to this point. The hundreds of times as little lads, their parents made sure they were at training on time and prepared suddenly felt worth it.

This is what football is all about. This is what dreams feel like when they turn into reality - and these players TOGETHER haven’t half got each other believing and dreaming that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

As pandemonium; relief, euphoria and a whirlwind melting pot of emotions swirled around in the lads veins as they charged towards the corner where Rogan Ravenhill sprinted wildly (cue Fabio Jalo momentarily crowd-surfing on top of a pack which even included Nicky Eaden), the first few bars of ‘Ecuador’ by Sash have probably never sounded so good as a backing track to mark such a monumental moment.

A moment these lads will remember for the rest of their lives!

All that emotion. All the adrenaline. Pure, absolute joy at a sense of accomplishment which, even now, they’re still probably trying to comprehend because it won’t have quite sunk in yet - the best Barnsley youth team EVER. That was official already. But now NATIONAL CHAMPIONS and the best in their age group across this category in the whole country. Not just the North. The whole of England.

The next few moments will have probably felt quite blurred; the lads thoughts being something along the lines of ‘Weeeewooolaaweeeeloooweeeezeeeeeeyeeeeeeeha’ and buzzing off pure adrenaline, love and amazement as they took to the podium, tried to take in the moment, and eventually hoisted the trophy aloft to a backdrop of ‘We Are The Champions’ on the PA system, before a few photos to cherish forever with their family members pitchside.

What a day!

But what spirit from the lads to show grit, determination, desire and character, to stick together and emerge VICTORIOUS in a game which was an absolute blockbuster with so many massive moments.

Whether it be Rogan Ravenhill’s penalty save (and that one where he stuck out a leg in normal time when it was right in the balance), Hayden Pickard’s assist and so very nearly a goal to remember too, Josh McKay’s solid contribution at right-back, the absolute bravery shown by the trialist who contributed so much during the course of the game and then had the absolute guts to step forward in sudden death, Jono Bland and that block on the line deep into added time (plus all his bits of reassuring leadership which was so evident at other points; an absolute leader), Kynan Murchison and his steady performance, the graft and guile and work-rate of Vimal Yoganathan and Jean Claude Makiessi in midfield, Josiah Dyer and his persistence up top to try and make something happen which led to a standing ovation when he came off, Theo Chapman and his composed penalty under pressure in the first half, Fabio Jalo and all his trickery up top (plus the little grab). And then the subs, Emmaisa Nzondo who strived so tirelessly when he came on, Rafael Monteiro who looked determined and buried his own penalty, Leo Farrell with his height, desire and willingness to battle in order to play a big part in a comeback (and helping to win the corner), or Matty Doyle who headed home that equaliser which must have been one of the best moments of his life and will eclipse everything he’s been through with his injuries in the past.

TOGETHER, they gave it ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING and they probably couldn’t be prouder of what they gave for each other in this game. Heart, desire, application, willingness - the lot. It was out there by the bucket load. They all contributed so much. And they’ve all made each other believe what they’ve just achieved was actually possible and created memories for each other that will mean so much for years and years to come!

What a feeling! What a group!

So if any of you lads read this, take a look at your medals - and take a moment to reflect on what you’ve just achieved and how proud everyone is of you from your coaches to your families to your friends. It is phenomenal!

Barnsley Football Club has had some great players at academy level in the past but you’ve just proved yourself to be part of the best youth team this club has ever had! 

Let that sink in!

Saturday 20th May 2023.

A day to remember for the rest of your lives. A day that memories were made to keep forever. A day your families won’t ever forget. A day where the music over the PA system was bang on (even if it was a bit loud), and I hope this piece will bring back a few happy memories if or when you re-read it in years to come!

Get ‘Ecuador’ on your playlist and remember…

YOU are the CHAMPIONS!

Team: Rogan Ravenhill, Josh McKay, Hayden Pickard, Trialist, Jonathan Bland, Kynan Murchison, Vimal Yoganathan, Jean Claude Makiessi, Josiah Dyer, Theo Chapman, Fabio Jalo. Subs: Emmaisa Nzondo, Rafael Monteiro, Leo Farrell, Matty Doyle. Unused Sub: Trent Carter-Rogers.