# 2005–06 Barnsley F.C. season

The 2005–06 season was the 97th season in the Football League played by Barnsley F.C., a professional football club based in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England.

## Season summary

Having appointed Andy Ritchie as manager after a successful spell as caretaker manager, the Reds started the season in mixed form, picking up 14 points in their first 11 games. A run of 10 games unbeaten followed, as Barnsley found themselves in 4th place and 3 points off the promotion places. Barnsley continued their strong form into the second half of the season, finishing fifth in the league, on 72 points. This meant Barnsley would face Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town in a play-off semi-final.
After losing the first leg at home 1–0 it appeared that Barnsley were resigned to another season in League One. However, Barnsley took the lead in the away leg, with Paul Hayes scoring a penalty after being fouled by Danny Schofield. Huddersfield went on to equalise but goals from captain Paul Reid and a 77th-minute winner from Daniel Nardiello meant Barnsley would be playing in the play-off final against Swansea City who had beaten third placed Brentford. This was also the first time in the history of the playoffs in all three divisions that a side had overturned a first leg deficit after losing the first leg at home.
The final was played at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on 27 May 2006 in front of a crowd of 55,419. Barnsley took the lead through a Paul Hayes opener but Swansea replied with goals from ex-Red Rory Fallon and Andy Robinson following a blunder by keeper Nick Colgan. A Barnsley equaliser came from a Daniel Nardiello free kick, but neither team could find a winner in either normal time or extra time, despite Swansea's Lee Trundle coming close late on.
As the match was tied 2–2, it was decided on penalties, with Nick Colgan redeeming himself for his earlier mistake and saving Swansea's final penalty from Alan Tate, to give the Reds a 4–3 shootout victory and a place in the Championship.

## Competitions
### League One
#### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 3 | Brentford | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 72 | 52 | +20 | 76 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 4 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 72 | 59 | +13 | 73 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 5 | Barnsley (O, P) | 46 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 62 | 44 | +18 | 72 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 6 | Swansea City | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 78 | 55 | +23 | 71 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 67 | 52 | +15 | 69 | |

#### Match details

League One match details :
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 6 August 2005 | Swindon Town | H | W | 2–0 | Hayes 11', Shuker 47' | 9,358 |
| 9 August 2005 | Scunthorpe United | A | L | 1–2 | Hayes 16' | 7,152 |
| 13 August 2005 | Colchester United | A | L | 0–1 | | 2,721 |
| 20 August 2005 | Yeovil Town | H | W | 1–0 | Williams 79' (pen.) | 8,153 |
| 27 August 2005 | Brentford | H | D | 1–1 | Turner 24' (o.g.) | 7,462 |
| 29 August 2005 | Swansea City | A | L | 1–3 | Burns 35' | 12,554 |
| 10 September 2005 | Nottingham Forest | H | W | 2–0 | Conlon 41', Shuker 45' | 10,080 |
| 13 September 2005 | Gillingham | A | W | 3–0 | Shuker 40', Hayes 43', Nardiello 85' | 5,283 |
| 17 September 2005 | Milton Keynes Dons | A | D | 0–0 | | 4,620 |
| 24 September 2005 | Doncaster Rovers | H | L | 0–2 | | 12,002 |
| 27 September 2005 | Bristol City | A | L | 0–3 | | 10,771 |
| 1 October 2005 | Oldham Athletic | H | W | 4–0 | Nardiello 8', Devaney 12', Shuker 14', 54' | 8,077 |
| 15 October 2005 | Blackpool | H | D | 2–2 | Richards 81', Howard 84' | 7,945 |
| 22 October 2005 | Southend United | A | D | 1–1 | Richards 61' | 6,986 |
| 25 October 2005 | Rotherham United | A | W | 1–0 | Devaney 73' | 5,401 |
| 29 October 2005 | Walsall | H | W | 2–1 | Hayes 13', Howard 66' | 8,145 |
| 12 November 2005 | Bradford City | A | D | 0–0 | | 9,486 |
| 19 November 2005 | Rotherham United | H | D | 1–1 | Watt 90' | 9,894 |
| 26 November 2005 | Swindon Town | A | W | 3–0 | Devaney 8', Shuker 51', 69' | 5,422 |
| 6 December 2005 | Tranmere Rovers | H | W | 2–1 | Devaney 58', Richards 77' (pen.) | 6,996 |
| 10 December 2005 | Scunthorpe United | H | W | 5–2 | Devaney 2', Hassell 7', Richards 33', Shuker 71', Hayes 90' | 8,197 |
| 17 December 2005 | Yeovil Town | A | L | 1–2 | Williams 15' | 5,620 |
| 26 December 2005 | Hartlepool United | H | D | 1–1 | Richards 28' (pen.) | 9,715 |
| 31 December 2005 | Huddersfield Town | H | D | 2–2 | Burns 42', Nardiello 81' | 13,063 |
| 2 January 2006 | Chesterfield | A | D | 0–0 | | 6,046 |
| 10 January 2006 | Gillingham | H | W | 1–0 | Shuker 15' | 7,090 |
| 14 January 2006 | Port Vale | A | L | 2–3 | Burns 56', Carbon 67' | 4,468 |
| 21 January 2006 | Milton Keynes Dons | H | W | 2–0 | Richards 77', Hassell 79' | 7,588 |
| 27 January 2006 | Nottingham Forest | A | W | 2–0 | Richards 15', 31' | 16,237 |
| 4 February 2006 | Bristol City | H | W | 2–0 | Richards 27', 81' (pen.) | 8,092 |
| 11 February 2006 | Doncaster Rovers | A | L | 0–2 | | 8,144 |
| 14 February 2006 | Port Vale | H | D | 1–1 | Hayes 56' | 7,709 |
| 18 February 2006 | Tranmere Rovers | A | W | 1–0 | Heckingbottom 16' | 6,802 |
| 25 February 2006 | Colchester United | H | W | 1–0 | Howard 72' | 9,411 |
| 28 February 2006 | Bournemouth | A | D | 1–1 | McPhail 21' | 5,191 |
| 4 March 2006 | Swansea City | H | D | 2–2 | Nardiello 56', Richards 61' (pen.) | 9,743 |
| 11 March 2006 | Brentford | A | L | 1–3 | Wright 68' | 7,352 |
| 18 March 2006 | Hartlepool United | A | D | 1–1 | Kay 36' | 5,122 |
| 25 March 2006 | Bournemouth | H | D | 0–0 | | 9,180 |
| 1 April 2006 | Huddersfield Town | A | L | 0–1 | | 19,052 |
| 8 April 2006 | Chesterfield | H | D | 1–1 | Howard 31' | 8,303 |
| 15 April 2006 | Oldham Athletic | A | W | 3–0 | Shuker 49', McPhail 62', Devaney 79' | 7,772 |
| 17 April 2006 | Southend United | H | D | 2–2 | Hunt 18' (o.g.), Maher 45' (o.g.) | 10,663 |
| 22 April 2006 | Blackpool | A | D | 1–1 | Howard 53' | 6,912 |
| 29 April 2006 | Bradford City | H | D | 0–0 | | 11,178 |
| 6 May 2006 | Walsall | A | W | 2–1 | Richards 31', Nardiello 83' (pen.) | 7,195 |

##### Play-offs

League One play-offs match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Semi-final first leg | 11 May 2006 | Huddersfield Town | H | L | 0–1 | | 16,127 |
| Semi-final second leg | 15 May 2006 | Huddersfield Town | A | W | 3–1 | Hayes 58' (pen.), Reid 71', Nardiello 78' | 19,223 |
| final | 27 May 2006 | Swansea City | N | D | 2–2 (a.e.t.) 4–3 pens. | Hayes 19', Nardiello 62' | 55,419 |

### FA Cup

FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round | 5 November 2005 | Darlington | H | W | 1–0 | Hayes 5' | 6,059 |
| Second round | 3 December 2005 | Bradford City | H | D | 1–1 | Hayes 43' | 7,051 |
| Second round replay | 13 December 2005 | Bradford City | A | W | 5–3 (a.e.t.) | Hayes 51', 78', Reid 59', Devaney 96', 109' | 4,738 |
| Third round | 7 January 2006 | Walsall | H | D | 1–1 | Hayes 77' | 6,884 |
| Third round replay | 17 January 2006 | Walsall | A | L | 0–2 | | 4,074 |

### League Cup

League Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| First round | 23 August 2005 | Preston North End | A | D | 2–2 (a.e.t.) 5–4 pens. | Burns 81', 108' | 3,137 | |
| Second round | 20 September 2005 | Burnley | A | L | 0–3 | | 4,501 | |

### Football League Trophy

Football League Trophy match details :
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| First round – northern section | 18 October 2005 | Doncaster Rovers | H | L | 2–5 | Foster 6' (o.g.), Nardiello 90' | 4,095 | |

## Players

| No. | Name | Date of birth | Signed from | Place of birth | Note |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Nick Colgan | 19 September 1973 | Hibernian | Drogheda | |
| 22 | Scott Flinders | 12 June 1986 | none | Rotherham | |
| 30 | David Scarsella | 12 October 1982 | | Adelaide | On loan at Tooting & Mitcham United |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Bobby Hassell | 4 June 1980 | Mansfield Town | Derby | |
| 3 | Steven Watt | 1 May 1985 | Chelsea | Aberdeen | On loan from Chelsea |
| 3 | Paul Heckingbottom | 17 July 1977 | Sheffield Wednesday | Barnsley | Signed from Sheffield Wednesday |
| 4 | Paul Reid | 18 February 1982 | Northampton Town | Carlisle | |
| 5 | Matt Carbon | 8 June 1975 | Walsall | Nottingham | |
| 6 | Tony Vaughan | 11 October 1975 | Mansfield Town | Manchester | On loan at Stockport County |
| 14 | Neil Austin | 26 April 1983 | none | Barnsley | |
| 15 | Antony Kay | 21 October 1982 | none | Barnsley | |
| 20 | Robbie Williams | 2 October 1984 | none | Pontefract | |
| 31 | Rob Atkinson | 29 April 1987 | none | Barnsley | |
| 32 | Ryan Laight | 16 November 1985 | none | Barnsley | |
| 33 | Thomas Harban | 12 November 1985 | none | Barnsley | |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 7 | Jacob Burns | 21 April 1978 | Leeds United | Sydney | Signed for Wisla Krakow |
| 10 | Stephen McPhail | 9 December 1979 | Leeds United | Westminster | |
| 11 | Brian Howard | 23 January 1983 | Swindon Town | Winchester | |
| 12 | Anthony McParland | 20 September 1982 | Celtic | Rutherglen | |
| 16 | Richard Kell | 15 September 1979 | Scunthorpe United | Bishop Auckland | |
| 17 | Nicky Wroe | 28 September 1985 | none | Sheffield | |
| 19 | Dale Tonge | 7 May 1985 | none | Barnsley | |
| 25 | Martin Devaney | 1 June 1980 | Watford | Cheltenham | |
| 26 | Simon Heslop | 1 May 1987 | none | York | |
| 34 | Kyle Nix | 21 January 1986 | Sheffield United | Sydney | On loan from Sheffield United |
| Forwards |||||||
| 8 | Paul Hayes | 20 September 1983 | Scunthorpe United | Dagenham | |
| 9 | Barry Conlon | 1 October 1978 | Darlington | Drogheda | |
| 18 | Chris Shuker | 9 May 1982 | Manchester City | Huyton | |
| 21 | Marc Richards | 8 July 1982 | Northampton Town | Wolverhampton | |
| 23 | Daniel Nardiello | 22 October 1982 | Manchester United | Coventry | |
| 27 | Nathan Jarman | 19 September 1986 | none | Scunthorpe | |
| 28 | Nathan Joynes | 7 August 1985 | none | Barnsley | |
| 29 | Tommy Wright | 28 September 1984 | Leicester City | Kirby Muxloe | |