ENGLISH LEAGUE: Barnsley 2 Ipswich Town 1:ROY KEANE took his frustrations out in the post-match press conference after watching his side slump to another defeat at Barnsley.
Jon Macken’s 96th minute strike gave the Tykes a 2-1 win to heap further pressure on the Tractor Boys boss as they remain without a win this season.
Keane spoke only briefly to reporters and became angry when questions focused on the last-minute winner and not a penalty decision given against his side. Referee Phil Gibbs harshly pointed to the spot for a foul off the ball by Tommy Smith on Iain Hume, but the Barnsley striker saw his spot-kick crash back off the upright.
“You’ve watch the game and nobody’s asked me about the bloody penalty,” Keane said as he got up to leave. “That about sums you up.”
He then challenged reporters on his way out of the room. “Was it a penalty? Does anyone in this room think it was a penalty?”
Keane began the press conference in more conciliatory fashion, and insisted there were positives to be taken from the game despite the result, which extends the worst start to a season in club history.
“It’s another disappointing result but we deserved more than we got,” he said. “It wasn’t a pretty game but we had just about the better of the chances, barring the penalty. To concede in injury-time again after five and a bit minutes is hard to take.”
Barnsley led after only eight minutes when Hume shrugged off two defenders before firing a low shot beyond the reach of Richard Wright, and might have added more before Liam Rosenior pounced on a goalkeeping error to head in an equaliser on the stroke of half-time.
Both sides had chances in added time, but it was Macken who grabbed the goal when Ipswich failed to clear a free-kick.
While the pressure mounts on Keane, the victory continues Mark Robin’s decent start as Barnsley boss.
“It’s back-to-back wins for the first time since I think St Stephen’s Day last year so from that point of view its excellent,” Robins said.
“It’s a decent return, we’ve had a decent start. We’ve been in three weeks now and we’re seeing things starting to move.”
