Barnsley stormed to another superb win in midweek to continue their fine run of form and to keep their survival hopes alive.

The Tykes have spent the vast majority of this season struggling to get wins and points and it has seen them sink deeper and deeper into the relegation zone. However, after a refresh at the turn of the year, the side now look like they could stay up.

Whether they do will ultimately come down to Reading slipping up and the Tykes continuing to pull off excellent results. So far, it looks as though Poya Asbaghi's side are holding up their end of the deal and if they can keep it up, they will have every chance of staying in the Championship.

With two goals early on to sink the Robins' hopes, here are three things we learnt from that superb win.

 

 

1. Barnsley possess the ability to be clinical in their squad

Surprisingly, considering what they were like earlier on in the campaign, Barnsley can score and they do have the ability to be clinical in front of goal when needed.

Carlton Morris has filled in as the lone option upfront in Cauley Woodrow's absence and he is arguably doing a lot better job of it too. He bagged the first goal against Bristol City and now has nine goal contributions in 20 league games to boot.

His tireless work-rate and ability in front of goal should likely keep him as the main attacker, even when Woodrow is fit again.

When you also look at the xG stats for that game (as per Infogol) you can see how good the Tykes were in front of goal throughout the game. The result based on these stats should have been a 1-1 draw. Based on the chances created, Barnsley should also have only bagged one.

Instead, they made the most of their efforts and scored two - and ultimately picked up the win. Barnsley then can certainly take their chances rather than scuff them despite earlier suggestions in the campaign.

2. The Tykes need to tie up their loan stars - permanently

This is an absolute no-brainer for anyone who has watched Barnsley recently and it is easier said than done but the club need to tie down their loan players permanently if they stay in the second tier and it is possible.

Amine Bassi has been a revelation since he came in for a start. He was the most accurate passer on the field to play over a half of football against Bristol City for starters and bagged an assist too. It takes his goal contribution tally to five in nine - and shows how vital he has already become to the club.

Alongside him has been Dom Quina, who has been hard to contain with his dribbling and his ability to produce a bit of magic from nothing. He too has bagged already for Barnsley and has looked bright on the ball for Poya Asbaghi's side.

Finally is Claudio Gomes and Remy Vita, who have both been quietly solid in recent weeks. The former has done some underrated work in the centre of the field and the latter was part of the reason Barnsley managed to keep a clean sheet against Bristol City.

To land even half of them on a permanent basis in the summer would be great business by the Tykes - and if they can do it, then they need to tie all four of them up ideally.

3. Barnsley can hold their own defensively

As per the first point, rather surprisingly compared to the beginning of the season, Barnsley are well capable of holding firm and setting up shop to keep opponents out of games.

Against Bristol City, those xG stats suggested their opponents should have bagged at least a goal. The Robins also managed more shots overall and more possession but couldn't make it count.

The Tykes then are no pushovers defensively. Their backline kept a clean sheet and despite an onslaught of chances from their opponents, they didn't budge in the slightest.

If they can continue to do that - and link it with the first point in this article - they'll have a fantastic chance of staying in the Championship this season.