So much for the theory that form is the prerequisite for promotion via the play-offs. Swansea arrived at Oakwell on their worst run of the season. They had six defeats in 11, Barnsley 13 wins in 19. And so, with a perverse illogicality, the Welsh club have positioned themselves to end their three-year exile in the Football League. Arguably Barnsley’s biggest game since the 2000 Championship play-off final ended in anticlimax, courtesy of André Ayew.
“We have been here before,” said the Swansea manager, Steve Cooper, whose side won their semi-final first leg last year but still did not reach Wembley. “We have got nothing to lose and the pressure is still on Swansea,” said Barnsley’s Valérien Ismaël.
