Two seasons ago, on the 19th of February in 2022, the Sky Blues confronted the struggling Barnsley at the newly renamed Coventry Building Society Arena in the Championship. Although the anticipated victory eventually materialized, it came in the dying moments, specifically in the third minute of stoppage time. Dominic Hyam, now a member of CCFPA, clinched the winning goal, marking his second goal in three games for CCFC after scoring in their previous 3-2 victory against Reading. The match drew a crowd of 17,104, with 605 supporters making the journey from South Yorkshire.
Despite the recent shaky form of the Sky Blues at home, they held the advantage of facing a winless Barnsley away team. Barnsley had previously defeated the Sky Blues with a lone goal in August, marking their second match of the season. Furthermore, Barnsley had secured their first win in thirteen games against Queens Park Rangers in their last outing.
However, the visitors found themselves under pressure from the start, with goalkeeper Brad Collins making several crucial saves, notably denying Viktor Gyokeres twice within the first four minutes. Collins continued to thwart the Sky Blues’ attempts, including shots from Callum O’Hare and Ian Maatsen before halftime, as well as a goal-bound effort from Ben Sheaf in the second half. Despite a frantic attacking spell from the Sky Blues, with Martyn Waghorn and Jamie Allen both seeing shots blocked, it appeared Barnsley might secure an unexpected point until Dominic Hyam’s late heroics.
In a tense conclusion, Hyam capitalized on a rebound at the edge of the box, turning and smashing the ball into the bottom corner in the third minute of nine additional minutes, securing a well-deserved victory for the Sky Blues. Mark Robins’ side, who had not suffered a home defeat to Barnsley since 1923, climbed to tenth place in the Championship, just three points shy of the top six. Meanwhile, Barnsley’s eighteenth defeat in 23 matches left them rooted to the bottom of the table, nine points away from safety
