BARNSLEY 3 CITY 0

THE conversation in their shared house afterwards was likely to be as one-sided as the action that had preceded it.

Jack Payne may be the most talked-about player at City as the transfer window rumbles on but he wasn’t even the boss of his own gaffe over the weekend.

It was his Doncaster landlord Alex Mowatt who earned the domestic bragging rights with a goal and two assists in this ultimate non-contest at Oakwell.

Those 3,500-plus City fans who made the short hop down the M1 will be anxiously counting off the days until Payne is confirmed as their player until May.

Ironically, Barnsley’s is the latest name to be circulated for the Huddersfield midfielder as the January waiting game goes on. Midnight on Tuesday is the next marker as the deadline for his Premier League parent club to activate the recall clause.

But Saturday was no shop-window exercise for the little maestro, who barely got a sniff after the first 20 minutes or so.

And much the same could be said about the rest of a team whose insipid display was not a patch on the swash-bucklers that have marked the recent revival.

The league table, not the form one, proved decisive in a contest that justified the 22 points and 17 places between the two sides.

Barnsley’s proud unbeaten home run, stretching back to March 17 last year, never faced any threat as City failed to come up with a single effort on target.

Richard O’Donnell may have spoken pre-match about the joys of watching the Bantams over the last few weeks. But it was opposite number Adam Davies in easy street as the Tykes skipper had nothing more challenging than the odd cross and goal kick to contend with.

What really irked David Hopkin afterwards is how he felt Barnsley did not have to work for their goals. The errors and switching-off that he had hoped were disappearing from City’s game sprung up again in one of the division’s most merciless arenas.

Hopkin had set up a team to be tough to break down. Eyebrows were raised when Ryan McGowan was shunted to the right and Paul Caddis moved inside to central midfield.

With Hope Akpan not deemed match fit to start, the Bantams boss hoped his fellow Scot’s guile and experience would help shore up the middle.

But it removed his willingness to gallop upfield from City’s attacking repertoire. McGowan was game enough – and did have their only half-opportunity of the afternoon - but did not go forward with the same effectiveness.

Paudie O’Connor was thrust into an immediate debut and looked okay before being replaced at half-time to accommodate an extra striker as the visitors vainly played catch-up.

But there seemed too many changes for a defence that had kept four clean sheets in the previous five outings and that momentum built from the past month was lacking.

And with Payne and David Ball snuffed out by the swarming energy in Barnsley’s middle ranks, City lacked the gumption to pose any questions going the other way.

McGowan’s header over the bar had been the only incident of note in the first quarter. But then the game swung on Barnsley’s first attack.

Payne drifted off and didn’t follow Mowatt’s run into the box. Mamadou Thiam, Barnsley’s unpredictable but dangerous winger, rolled the ball into his path and he stood up a cross to the far post.

Two red shirts were waiting but it was Jacob Brown, rather than target man Kieffer Moore, who jumped above the hapless Adam Chicksen to nod home his first goal for the club.

Moore would have his moment 10 minutes later to convert Barnsley’s second that was either a wonder move or keeper blunder depending on your viewpoint.

The Tykes’ Twitter feed were very much of the former opinion – “everyone involved with touches, flicks, chips, first time, second time, everything!”

True the flick from Thiam into Mowatt to provide again, this time for Moore, was exquisite. But Hopkin’s verdict after O’Donnell got a hand on the close-range shot but could not keep it out was more damning of his own man.

Miller’s arrival for the second half as City reverted to 4-1-3-2 promised a response. But the substitute, who has also been mentioned with Barnsley, wasted both chances he had to get in behind the unhindered home backline.

Barnsley looked to fill their boots as Moore, Thiam and Cameron McGeehan threatened further punishment.

Then Chicksen’s difficult day finished early when he caught the heels of Guiseley academy product Brown scampering towards the edge of the City penalty area and saw red for the second time of the season.

With more room to play with, Barnsley did add a late third as Brown headed over the top and Mowatt drilled into the bottom corner.

“It pains me to say it but where this football club is now, our season is not defined on Barnsley away,” said Caddis afterwards.

“By all means, I’m sure that will change next year and we’ll be in a better position. But right now, our bigger games are against the teams round about us.”

While the survival fight remains as intense as ever, City were the only side in the bottom five to lose, they are perhaps permitted an off day after the exertions in hauling themselves back into contention.

Since the beginning of November, they have lost to nobody below the top five. The main point is to win the games that matter more by hurting those around them.

Southend, the next opponents, may be just in the top half for now but represent another unpredictable side who could be dragged unexpectedly into the dogfight below them.

By then, Hopkin will hope to have at least one more addition to a squad that remains stretched. The weakness of their bench on Saturday proved that.

And City will also be looking for a few favours now from Barnsley whose upcoming fixture list features six of their relegation rivals.

Win most of those and that could restore some unity in a certain south Yorkshire household.