After Kevin Blackwell's patched up squad stopped a run of four successive defeats with a draw at Oakwell the United manager heaped praise on the players who had defied the odds to play their part.

Forced into two changes owing to injury and suspension before the game, he had to endure yet more misery as Matt Kilgallon and Ian Bennett became the latest victims and had to be substituted by the interval:

"I am very proud of my players. It might sound like a cracked record but that is nine serious injuries in the last eight games.

"There has been change after change and the spirit of the players has been phenomenal because there were some walking wounded out there.

"We started off quite well and had some chances in the first-half but couldn't quite finish them off. I said at half-time that our second striker needed to be on the move in the box more when Darius knocked the ball on and Ched Evans did that to win the penalty.

"After the first goal they put us under a bit of pressure but we didn't throw the towel in. This is one of the worst grounds to see penalty decisions from the sidelines and I couldn't really see either of ours but we deserve a break after some of the goals scored against us.

"Our lads were full of character and this result may be one small step for us. We have been off, I know we have but there were only three players out there who played in the play-off final just a few months ago - there has been a massive transformation."