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Martin Paterson, back on the pitch and back in form, inspired the comeback with his first goals since we beat Watford but despite an amazing late spell we just couldn't get a third goal to complete an amazing comeback.
Both managers had spoken of their worries of playing again on a Monday after Saturday games with the potential for fatigue, but both managers made just the two changes and for Burnley they were the two enforced on manager Owen Coyle.
Steve Thompson was ruled out with a suspension and Ade Akinbiyi came in for his first start of the season. As expected Wade Elliott's groin injury kept him out and as expected the replacement was Michael Duff who went to right back with Graham Alexander moving into the midfield.
We started in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Chris Eagles on the right and Robbie Blake on the left, and we started well, taking the game to Barnsley right from the start. Brian Jensen did make a good save from Jonathan Macken but apart from that it was all Burnley and virtually the whole play was down the far end from our location tucked into the corner behind the goal.
Heinz Muller, the Barnsley keeper, twice got down well to save from Robbie Blake and Chris Eagles but such was the start it just needed a goal and I'm sure we would have taken the game away from Barnsley.
But the goal didn't come for us and right against the run of play Barnsley took the lead. A mistake by Clarke Carlisle let in Macken, he was played onside by Steven Caldwell and he finished well giving Jensen no chance.
It was a bemusing scoreline after the start, and if it stunned us sat in the stand it also stunned the players because from that moment we really lost our way. It was nearly two soon after as Kayode Odejayi (he who never scores) almost made it 2-0 as our performance seriously deteriorated.
Things could have got worse for Burnley. After a challenge by Carlisle that cost him a yellow card, Eagles looked to have reacted to something and although there was no forced there did seem to be a coming together of heads. Referee Nigel Miller chose to yellow card him but he could count himself lucky to still be on the pitch.
I can't recall anything positive of note for the remainder of the half and by the time Miller blew his half time whistle we couldn't have any serious complaints at going in a goal down.
Perhaps we needed to change things, but it was the same eleven who came out for the second half. We needed to get right back at Barnsley. However, the game was taken away from us in the opening minutes because of total incompetence by two of the match officials and our total lack of discipline.
With just a couple of minutes of the second half gone Barnsley got themselves a second through Simon Whaley. From the far end we could see a deflection, but within seconds texts were coming through telling us it was offside, handball, and just about anything else you can disallow a goal for.
Now I don't care what the assistant could and couldn't see, and neither do I care what Miller could and couldn't see. What I do know is between them they could see the lot. Why on earth they didn't bother to speak to each other, why on earth there wasn't any communication between them only they will know.
I've seen it now on television and it is handball and there are three players in offside positions including Whaley who deflected the ball in with his hand. There are no other words to describe the actions of Miller and his flagman here - just total incompetence.
The Burnley players were livid, and remonstrated with the officials. Ade, Clarke, and the skipper all had words. But he wasn't going to change his mind was he? Sadly the arguing, the moaning just continued, not just on the pitch but also on the touchline where Coyle could clearly be seen continuing the arguments with the fourth official and the assistant.
We just went to pieces and whilst we were all over the place the inevitable happened and Barnsley got a third. It was just totally unacceptable from our players and there we were 3-0 and facing yet another bad result at Oakwell.
That third goal at least sparked us into action on the touchline and we made a double substitution, bringing on Kevin McDonald and Martin Paterson for Joey Gudjonsson and Ade. Neither player had played well. Some substitutions work, some don't, I think it is fair to say that the two players coming on did their chances of getting back into the side no harm whatsoever.
Nothing changed for a while, but there was an improvement, and then with just over twenty minutes to go we got what I thought at the time was nothing more than a consolation goal. Inevitably Robbie was involved. He'd been our best player on the night. He threaded a lovely ball through for Pato and he finished expertly through the legs of Muller.
Incredibly, four minutes later we were right back in it when Pato got another. Forget any suggestion of poor defending, this was a cracking goal from him. Barnsley gave the ball away, and Robbie played the ball forward to Paterson on the right wing and not too far over the half way line.
He got down the line, cut in and went inside a defender before hitting his shot past Muller on his near post. Suddenly there we were in with a chance of getting something. We'd around seventeen minutes plus stoppage time and one more goal would give us a point.
We didn't get it, but how close we came. It might have come only a couple of minutes after the second. Paterson again got onto the ball, this time on the left. He got past the defender just inside the box and how on earth that could be adjudged a foul only Miller will know. It was an absolute shocker of a decision and Pato got himself a yellow card for questioning it.
For the remainder of the game it was Muller v Burnley and it was no surprise just before the end to hear he was the home team's man of the match. Chris McCann played a ball in from the left. It fell back for him but his first time shot was tipped over by the keeper.
If that was a good goal then he bettered it from Eagles, parrying the ball out to McDonald who could only watch as his shot sailed over. He kept their lead for them and when McCann hit a shot into the side netting rather than playing it into the middle with just a minute of normal time left you sensed that was our last chance gone.
It really was a strange game. We started it so well and we ended it by piling on the pressure as we tried to complete an amazing comeback. But that hour in the middle was worrying for a number of reasons. We've done well in previous games having gone 1-0 down but we just seemed to lose our game this time, and we really have to do something about the indiscipline. It cost us again and could have cost us even more.
There were positives and none more so than the two goals. Martin Paterson needed a goal having gone so long without one. His two in this game will have done him the power of good. And Kevin McDonald who came on with him showed again what a good player he's going to be. How on earth do you get the ball off him?
Paterson was very close to the man of the match for me, and had he got a third I would not have hesitated. But I'm going with Robbie who provided the real quality on the pitch.
So the wait goes on for that win at Oakwell, it will be 77 years in April. It doesn't look as though we are ever going to win there so, as one message board poster said this morning, I hope they are relegated.
Onto Derby on Saturday, and there's no reason why we can't bounce back. We showed enough good football last night that indicates how good a side we can be. We just need to avoid that middle bit that cost us so dearly.
The teams were;
Barnsley: Heinz Muller, Bobby Hassell, Stephen Foster, Dennis Souza, Rob Kozluk, Simon Whaley, Hugo Colace, Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Martin Devaney (Diego Leon 10, Marciano van Homoet 84), Kayode Odejayi (Michael Coulson 84), Jonathan Macken. Subs not used: Marceo Rigters, Miguel Mostto.
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Michael Duff (Jay Rodriguez 88), Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan, Graham Alexander, Chris Eagles, Joey Gudjonsson (Kevin McDonald 55), Chris McCann, Robbie Blake, Ade Akinbiyi (Martin Paterson 55). Subs not used: Diego Penny, Alan Mahon.
Referee: Nigel Miller (Co Durham).
Attendance: 10,678.