BARNSLEY 2, BRISTOL CITY 3 (Final score)

RESURGENT City turned on the style at Oakwell to record their first away win in the Coca-Cola Championship since February.

Without a victory on the road since Reading were beaten at the Madjeski Stadium last season, the Robins put the record straight in emphatic fashion to climb back into the play-off positions.

Top-scorer Nicky Maynard put City on their way, breaking clear to open the scoring after 26 minutes.

And Evander Sno, having arguably his best game since arriving on loan from Ajax, made it 2-0 four minutes before the break.

Barnsley pulled a goal back on 61 minutes, Dean Gerken allowing substitute Daniel Bogdanovic’s speculative shot from 20 yards to squirm between his legs and over the line.

But the visitors restored their two-goal cushion 12 minutes later. Danny Haynes was pulled back by Tykes defender Ryan Shotton, leav ing referee Andy Haines no option but to award a penalty and issue a red card.

Jamie McAllister’s spot kick was saved by Luke Steele, but Marvin Elliott followed up to score his first goal of the season and seal victory.

Adam Hamill pulled a goal back in time added on, but it proved no more than a consolation for the home side, who remain at the wrong end of the table after a second successive defeat.

City manager Gary Johnson said he was considering altering a winning side for the trip to Oakwell and he proved as good as his word, making three changes from the team which defeated Plymouth Argyle 3-1 last time out.

Costa Rica striker Alvaro Saborio made way for club captain Louis Carey, a switch which signalled a return to the 3-5-2 system that served City so well earlier in the season.

More surprising was the manager’s decision to omit the in-form Cole Skuse and Paul Hartley – outstanding in midweek – and recall Lee Johnson and Marvin Elliott to operate alongside Dutchman Evander Sno in a three-man central midfield.

But Johnson sought to justify his selection in terms of volume of games, insisting it was asking too much to expect Skuse to play three times in a week and Hartley twice in five days.

He revealed: “It’s about bringing in fresh legs. Skuse was suffering from cramp and at the end of Tuesday’s game and has put in a really hard shift already this week, while Hartley had to spend a couple of days back in Scotland for his young boy’s birthday.

“That’s fine, because we now have a big enough squad to cope without having to flog people to death. There are a lot of games in a short space of time and it’s about looking after players rather than rotation for the sake of rotation.”

City certainly looked the livelier of the two sides during the opening exchanges and they twice threatened the home goal from set-pieces, Jamie McAllister testing Tykes keeper Luke Steele from a free kick and corner in quick succession.

Given the time it took Barnsley to get into their stride, perhaps their minds were on Tuesday’s eagerly-awaited Carling Cup tie here against Manchester United instead of the more immediate task of picking up points to remain clear of the Championship relegation zone.

Yorkshire voices were finally raised in the 12^th minute, Stephen Foster applying a touch to Ryan Shotton’s swirling free kick and forcing Robins keeper Dean Gerken to make a finger-tip save at full stretch.

Barnsley went closer still a minute later, Emil Hallfredsson beating Gerken all ends up with a thunderbolt drive from 25 yards which came off the underside of the bar and bounced off the line. The ball was cleared only as far as Iain Hume, who should have done better than send his shot into the ground and over the target from 15 yards out.

Suddenly finding themselves overrun in the centre of midfield, City had to weather a storm and were fortunate to survive when Jamal Campbell-Ryce applied the deftest of touches to Hugo Colace’s cross and Bradley Orr had to make a vital clearance.

That proved to be Orr’s last action, the right wing-back limping off after 18 minutes to be replaced by Skuse.

The enforced change did not appear to affect the visitors, who broke away to take the lead eight minutes later. Gerken’s long clearance eluded Tykes centre-back Darren Moore and caught the Tykes napping, allowing the ever-alert Maynard to surge into the penalty area and hold off Foster’s challenge to drill a low shot beyond Steele and register his ninth goal of an increasingly-productive season.

Maynard’s predatory strike served to quieten the crowd, settle City’s nerves and encourage the visitors to play a more thoughtful game. They threatened a second goal soon afterwards, Elliott leaping to meet McAllister’s free kick at the far post when he might have been better off leaving it for Carey.

City’s captain was not to be denied moments later, collecting a loose ball 25 yards from goal, turning inside and unleashing a curling right-footed shot which had Steele sweating before it flew behind.

City extended their lead four minutes before half-time. Danny Haynes embarked upon a great run down the right flank and pulled the ball back for Sno to score his first Championship goal with a sweetly-struck left-footed shot from just inside the penalty area.

Tykes manager Mark Robins made a like-for-like change at half-time, withdrawing the ineffective Hume and sending on Maltese international striker Daniel Bogdanovic.

But City continued to hold sway and they could easily have added a third goal on 50 minutes. Johnson’s incisive through ball carved open Barnsley’s defence and Haynes was denied a shooting opportunity only by Foster’s supremely-well-timed tackle.

Robins had clearly seen enough and promptly replaced winger Campbell-Ryce with Brazilian midfielder Anderson De Silva, a player City tried and failed to sign during the summer.

Having played second fiddle for quite some time, Barnsley finally came to life and Andy Gray’s shot on the turn forced Gerken to make a smart save at his near post.

Yet City’s keeper was found badly wanting on 61 minutes, stooping to gather Bogdanovic’s innocuous shot from the edge of the 18 yard box and somehow contriving to let the ball run between his legs and over the line.

It was a terrible mistake by a player who had been arguably City’s most consistent since he signed from Colchester United during the close season. His gaffe gave the Tykes all the encouragement they needed and City now had a contest on their hands.

Jacob Butterfield replaced Hugo Colace, who was shown a yellow card for a late challenge on Elliott, and the youngster went close to an equaliser when sending a low shot inches wide of Gerken’s goal.

City’s relief was plain for all to see when Elliott played Haynes in and the former Ipswich raider, clean through on goal, was hauled back by Shotton.

Referee Andy Haines had no option but to issue the Barnsley defender with a straight red card and award a penalty. McAllister’s spot kick was saved by Steele, but Elliott reacted quickest to score from the rebound and restore City’s two-goal advantage.

His first goal of the season all but secured City’s first away win in eight months.

Hamill pulled a goal back with a 20 yhard drive in injury time and threatened an equaliser with a glancing header, but City held on.

Barnsley (4-4-2): Steele, Shotton, Foster, Moore, Dickinson; Campbell-Ryce (Anderson 53), Colace (Butterfield 63), Hallfredsson, Hammill; Gray, Hume (Bogdanovic 46).

City (3-5-2): Gerken; Carey, McCombe, Nyatanga; Orr (Skuse 18), Elliott, Johnson, Sno (Williams 84), McAllister; Haynes (Saborio 88), Maynard.

Referee: Andy Haines (Tyne & Wear)

Attendance: 11,314