Football: Lacklustre show worst this season; WOLVES NEWS.

Byline: By Paul Berry 

BARNSLEY 1

WOLVES 0

THERE was a spell last night, with Watford and Albion both two goals adrift, when a strike from Wolves would have taken them - temporarily at least - top of the Championship.

By close of play and, indeed, with Watford having hit back to win, Wolves had themselves conceded at the wrong end and with results elsewhere ultimately ended up sixth in the table.

Welcome, once again, to the weird and wonderful world of English football's second tier.

In truth Wolves never looked like seizing the moment as they might have done in securing the result which would have propelled them into the automatic promotion places for the first time this season.

They were lacklustre, careless, sloppy and wasteful - "hopeless" was Mick McCarthy's adjective - and you don't say that about his Wolves team very often.

McCarthy enjoyed great success at his home-town club during the early uncompromising years of a playing career which progressed to the highest level.

But his most recent two visits to Oakwell as a manager have been about as welcoming as Gordon Brown receiving a call from Tony Blair asking: "How are you finding life in the hotseat me old mate?"

Just like last year at Barnsley, Wolves never got out of the blocks, found it nigh on impossible to cope with the Tykes' marauding wingers, and were indebted to their goalkeeper - Matt Murray last season Wayne Hennessey this - just to keep them in the game.

Hennessey's arcing tip-over from Dominic Werling's 43rd-minute free-kick was a particular highlight, and will no doubt have impressed another posse of visiting goalkeeping scouts including Chris Woods, Dave Beasant and Villa's Seamus McDonagh.

Hennessey had already made several more routine stops as Barnsley dominated the first half, Jemal Campbell-Ryce putting in a performance that must have given Michael Gray nightmares.

But just as Wolves could only keep "winning ugly" for so long their keeper could also only save them for so long.

And not long after the restart, with both teams having nobly offered each other early Christmas gifts, it was Barnsley who saw fit to take the charity.

Karl Henry has been an inspirational presence in recent times and, indeed, a match-winning hero at the weekend.

But the hero turned villain on 48 minutes as his awkward headed clearance fell perfectly for Istvan Ferenczi to tap home from barely two yards.

Yet two minutes later Barnsley responded in kind, Lewin Nyatanga hauling down Stephen Elliott inside the area.

Wolves, however, responded with a second successive penalty miss as Andy Keogh's effort was beaten away by Heinz Muller in much the same comfortable fashion as Freddy Eastwood's had been at Ipswich in October.

From there Wolves produced one or two shots from distance and Muller palmed away Seyi Olofinjana's cross-cum-shot.

But it was just one of those nights when everything went wrong, including perhaps McCarthy's changes of which Matt Jarvis was substituted at half-time of his first start and Stephen Ward given 45 minutes as a centre-forward and 22 as a winger before also being withdrawn.

A bad day at the office, no doubts, and McCarthy was visibly seething.

But the case for the defence, and in particular the Wolves defence, remains positive reading.

Ferenczi's rather fortunate goal is the only one Wolves have conceded in 10 hours of football, and this defeat was only their second in 14.

While there will be much beating of brows and gnashing of teeth - understandably so given what was easily Wolves' worst performance of the season - there remains the potential of McCarthy's men returning to the winners table in the very near future.

This Championship just wouldn't have it any other way.

BARNSLEY (4-4-2): Muller; Foster, Souza, Nyatanga, Werling; Campbell-Ryce, De Silva, Howard, Devaney (Togwell 70); Ferenczi (Christensen 90), Macken (Mostto 89). Not used: Reid, McCann.

WOLVES (4-4-2): HENNESSEY 7; Foley 6, D Ward 7. N.

Collins 5, Gray 5; Potter 5 (Gibson 57, 5), Olofinjana 5, Henry 6, Jarvis 6 (Elliott 45, 5); Keogh 5, S Ward 5 (Eastwood 67, 5). Not used: Ikeme, Edwards.

Referee: G. Salisbury ( Lancashire ).

READ PAUL'S WOLVES BLOG AT WWW.BIRMINGHAMMAIL.NET/BLOG

CAPTION(S):

OFF NIGHT... Darren Potter is challenged by Istvan Ferenczi. Picture: Sam Bagnall.; MISS... Andy Keogh.