Barnsley 1, Burnley FC 2

The omens before kick-off at Oakwell weren’t good for the Clarets - and they were even worse when Adam Hammill broke the deadlock for Barnsley in the 25th minute, against the run of play.

Burnley haven’t beaten the Tykes on their own stomping ground in South Yorkshire for 79 years, with the last two Boxing Day fixtures at Oakwell, in 2000 and 2006, finishing 1-0 to the hosts.

Add to that a record of one away win in 31 attempts prior to kick-off, and it didn’t look as though the pressure was likely to ease on manager Brian Laws.

The Clarets, who haven’t won away from Turf Moor on Boxing Day since beating Blackpool 2-1 in 1972, were frustratingly uninspiring in the opening exchanges and struggled to adapt to the wintery conditions.

Laws’ side were on the back foot, with Hammill, Goran Lovre and former Claret Andy Gray forcing Burnley’s defensive line to the edge of Lee Grant’s 18-yard box, while Hugo Colace was inventive in the centre of the park. Full-backs Kieron Trippier and Bobby Hassell were also enthusiatic in advancing down the flanks, forcing the visitors to retreat.

Mark Robins’ men were the first to make an impact on a relatively tedious game, devoid of idea, creativity or penetration.

Trippier’s stabbed pass sliced through Burnley’s back four in the opening five minutes, finding Hammill unmarked inside the penalty area. However, the forward’s indecision thwarted any attempts to test Grant, forcing him to roll the ball back to Hassell who fired into a wall of white shirts.

Laws made a gamble before kick-off, partnering on-loan Manchester City starlet John Guidetti alongside Jay Rodriguez. And that gamble almost paid off. With the Clarets coming to life on the quarter-of-an-hour mark, Ross Wallace led the counter attack before releasing Jack Cork down the left.

The Chelsea loan star found time to compose himself, before whipping in a delightful right-footed cross towards Guidetti at the back post, but his measured header was pushed on to the post by the fingertips of Luke Steele while Wallace’s rebound was blocked en-route to goal.

The Clarets continued bombarding the Barnsley box, peppering crosses towards the penalty spot, testing the resolve of Stephen Foster and Tykes captain Jason Shackell.

But that pressure failed to tell, and Barnsley took advantage.

Rodriguez’s mis-placed pass towards Guidetti resulted in Lovre breaking clear and threading a precise pass beyond the back-tracking Cork to Hammill, who scored at the second attempt after Grant had saved his first effort.

Before the Cardiff City postponement, Laws stated that the touchline can sometimes be a “lonely place” and that looked to be the case, especially when chants of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from the away support rung around Oakwell.

The reaction of the travelling fans at half-time was mixed, though the majority seemed intent on backing their team. And that reaction prompted a response from the Clarets’ starting XI.

Within nine minutes of the restart, Laws’ side were level. In a move reminiscent of Guidetti’s earlier chance, it was Wade Elliott this time who floated a pin-point diagonal cross towards the 18-year-old, but this time the on-loan City striker made no mistake as he guided his header past Steele and in at the far post, opening his Clarets account.

And one soon became two, when four minutes later Andre Bikey gave the Clarets the lead as his bullet header at the near post from Wallace’s corner found the roof of the net.

The Clarets’ energy and desire after the interval proved too much for Barnsley to handle, and it was refreshing to watch. Elliott glided into a more central role as play switched to the left. Guidetti and Rodriguez were menacing in the attack, while Wallace was heavily involved.

Cork was pulling the strings as skipper Graham Alexander swept up behind him and it was this approach which led to an intricate trinagular passage of play between Elliott, Guidetti and Rodriguez, which saw the latter fire just wide.

Guidetti, on his first start for the Clarets, was heavily involved in Burnley’s next move in the 70th minute, when he skipped past Hassell before clipping a cross to Rodriguez, whose glancing header sprung back off the inside of the post with Steele a mere spectator.

Substitute Jacob Butterfield showed a neat piece of skill to get between Rodriguez and Elliott on a rare second-half attack for the hosts, but Tyrone Mears took the ball off his foot on the edge of the six-yard box.

That was to be the last chance of note, but the Clarets showed the professionalism Laws had been demanding to see the game out and claim a much-needed victory.