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Newcastle United made it to the summit of the Championship table for the first time this season last night as they beat Barnsley 2-0 at Oakwell.

Dwight Gayle bagged both of the goals in a strong second half for the Magpies to help them leapfrog Norwich City, who only managed a 2-2 draw at Fulham’s Craven Cottage.

It was a tough night for Rafa Benitez’s side who were frustrated in the first 45 minutes by a compact Barnsley side who hadn’t won in five going into the game.

In the end, after showing that they’re are up for the fight when needed, their class shone through and they did enough to break down the hosts and go back to Tyneside with the maximum three points.

That was much to the delight of the 6,000 Newcastle United fans who’d made the trip to South Yorkshire.

But what did the Press in Barnsley think of last night’s game? How did they report on it?

See what reporters from Barnsley working for the Star and the Yorkshire Post wrote in aftermath, as well as respect from Tykes fans for the Toon Army.

Yorkshire Post match report

In the match report on the Yorkshire Post, the author noted the ‘embarrassment of riches’ available to the Magpies boss compared to Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom. The report read:

“It will not have been lost upon him (Benitez) that it was Barnsley who helped inflict his nastiest surprise as Anfield chief. That came in a painful loss to the South Yorkshire outfit, who famously triumphed 2-1 in a huge FA Cup upset when he was in charge on Merseyside in 2008.

“But there no major shocks in store for his high-flying Newcastle United side last night, who went top of the Championship, despite a difficult first half.

“The Championship’s capacity to rip up the form book may have preceded it over the years, but not on this occasion as Barnsley’s winless streak was extended to six matches and they have now lost five of their last six games. In contrast their powerhouse visitors secured their fourth win on the spin to firm up their title bid.

“One glance at last night’s teamsheet underlined the extent of Barnsley’s task in indelible ink. While Paul Heckingbottom was down to his last 16 senior players, Benitez was blessed with a complete embarrassment of riches in comparison.

“His only quandary was which multi-million pound player to leave out with a starting line-up described as “Premier League quality” by Heckingbottom. It was one of their stellar talents in Dwight Gayle who proved the difference with a second-half brace to take his season’s tally to 11 goals, to the delight of the 5,501 (sic) travelling Newcastle fans.

“In front of a crowd of 18,597, Barnsley’s biggest league crowd since September 2010, both sets of supporters saw a quiet opening 45 minutes. Barnsley restricted Newcastle to next-to-nothing, the visitors’ only effort on target being a free-kick from Gayle which was fielded in straightforward fashion by Adam Davies.

“After being so stout defensively in the first half, Barnsley switched off following a Ritchie corner four minutes after the break and it cost them. The inswinging delivery from the right was not dealt with and Gayle pounced on the loose ball and fired home at the near post.

“Any hint at a fightback was ended on 68 minutes when Newcastle sealed the three points thanks to Gayle. It was a moment of class with Ritchie and the striker combining again. The Scottish international’s defence-splitting pass was latched onto swiftly by Gayle and he raced clear before hooking the ball past Davies.

“Newcastle proceeded to play out the rest of the game in relative comfort, with Mo Diame heading wide and Gayle going close to sealing his hat-trick on two occasions.”

The Star’s match report

The Star, meanwhile, praised a professional Newcastle performance in their match report.

“Barnsley’s worrying run of form continued as they slipped to a fifth defeat in six matches courtesy of promotion favourites Newcastle United.

“The big-spending visitors – who look odds-on to seal a swift return to the Premier League – prevailed in some style thanks to a second-half brace from Dwight Gayle.

“While Barnsley put in a super collective shift - as they always do - Newcastle were rarely seriously threatened and in the end theirs was a comfortable fourth straight success in the second tier.”

Barnsley fans’ praise