BARNSLEY 0
LEICESTER CITY 1 (Hume 73)

BARNSLEY'S Championship safety is back hanging by the slenderest of threads after Leicester City completed a real smash and grab raid at a shocked and stunned Oakwell.

Reds boss Simon Davey rang the changes as he looked for the win to guarantee Championship safety with Brian Howard, Daniel Nardiello and Martin Devaney all returning to the starting eleven. Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Kayode Odejayi and Marciano Van Homoet missed out.

Leicester started strongly, aided by the wind, and Steve Howard battered an opening for Matt Oakley with just three minutes on the clock but the midfielder fired well wide from 18 yards under pressure from Dennis Souza.

The visitors pushed forward but that always left them exposed to the counter and Diego Leon almost put Nardiello clean through on eight minutes but Patrick Kisnorbo somehow managed to get a foot in to deny the striker a clean run on goal.

Steve Howard was then an inch away from David Bell's fine cross on nine minutes before the striker again barged his way into a shooting position seconds later but saw his goalbound effort smack Lewin Nyatanga and bounce out of play.

It was fast and frantic and Nardiello almost gave the home side the lead on 17 minutes when he hit one from the edge of the box that Paul Henderson had to turn away for a corner at the foot of the post.

Bobby Hassell then did well to tee up Nardiello again on 19 minutes but the striker's rising shot was never going to trouble Henderson in the Leicester City goal. Steve Howard then flashed a header into the sidenetting a minute later after beating Stephen Foster to Kisnorbo's high free kick at the back post.

Luke Steele had to be at his very, very best on 26 minutes as Iain Hume looked set to give Leicester the lead as he raced onto Lee Hendrie's long punt forward but the Reds keeper raced off his line to make a telling block.

Jon Macken had Oakwell on its feet on 29 minutes as he turned well onto Devaney's pass before firing off a defender and agonisingly wide of the post. From Leon's corner Nardiello saw a pointblank headed hacked off the line.

The game finally came to life on 31 minutes when Rob Kozluk went through Richard Stearman on half way and provoked an over the top reaction from the Leicester players. Referee Mark Halsey kept his head and brandished the yellow card which the challenge warranted.

Leon then tricked his way past three or four challenges on the edge of the area before shooting just wide of the bottom corner on 35 minutes before Kozluk smashed one a foot or so wide seven minutes later.

Devaney thought he had broken the deadlock on 42 minutes as he let fly with a rocket from 25 yards that fizzed past Henderson and smacked against the upright before bouncing clear. Macken could not turn the rebound back goalward.

Substitute Barry Hayles made his presence felt within a minute of coming onto the pitch with a ridiculously late tackle on Kozluk after the ball had long gone. Hayles was shown a yellow card.

Barnsley should have been in front just two minutes after the restart when Gareth McAuley made a complete mess of Foster's back post cross. The ball dropped to Leon who smacked it past Henderson from six yards but the ball cannoned away off the post and out of play.

Nardiello again went close on 51 minutes as he skipped past a couple of challenges and into the area but Henderson was quickly down to turn his low shot around the post.

At the other end Leicester showed that they were still well in the game Hayles went close just seconds later as he flashed one wide from ten yards after Steve Howard had held the ball up in the area.

Howard warmed up his shooting boots on 59 minutes when he fired wide of the target before Jon Macken drifted onto Nardiello's pass seconds later but his shot was deflected just past the post. Leon then swung over a dangerous corner for Foster to attack but again the ball just would not go in as the defender watched his header fly wide.

Leicester's first real big chance came on 66 minutes when Steele was barged out of it as he went for Bell's free kick. The ball dropped to Kisnorbo but the defender hammered the ball high over the bar. Bell again caused problems with the corner but the Reds defence were able to crowd out the danger on the six yard line.

Nardiello found space at the other end on 68 minutes as he raced past McAuley before smashing the ball towards the bottom corner only to see his effort smack against Kisnorbo. Devaney then tried one two minutes later after cutting in from the right but his curler flew an inch or so wide of the upright with Henderson nowhere.

Leicester grabbed the lead on 73 minutes as Hayles used all his experience and arms to hold off Nyatanga before playing in Hume who smacked it under Steele from two yards despite looking offside. The flag never came and the Reds were in trouble.

Leicester again had the benefit of the referees' decision on 78 minutes when Odejayi was pulled to the ground by Kisnorbo as he went for Macken's cross. Referee Halsey gave nothing.

Barnsley threw everything at Leicester in the closing stages and Michael Coulson shot wide on 88 minutes after a scramble from Kozluk's free kick. Leon then tried his luck with a free kick from 25 yards on 89 minutes but his curling effort flew over the bar.

BARNSLEY: Steele, Foster, Souza, Nyatanga, Kozluk, Devaney (Campbell-Ryce 80), Hassell (Coulson 85), Howard, Leon, Nardiello (Odejayi 68), Macken.
Subs: Letheren, Ferenczi.

LEICESTER CITY: Henderson, Kisnorbo, McAuley, Hume (N'Gotty 84), Bell (Campbell 90), Clapham, Wesolowski, Stearman, Oakley, Hendrie (Hayles 42), Howard.
Subs: Alnwick, Laczko.