Viduka too much for Barnsley revival

Leeds may have wanted to put their campaign back on track, but it was Barnsley who came away from Elland Road with the performance, if not the result, that could become the defining moment of their season. Probably their finest 45 minutes of a bleak winter was not quite enough for the struggling First Division side to cancel out the ninth-minute goal from Mark Viduka which eventually squeezed David O'Leary's team into the fourth round. But Barnsley's second-half display not only shook their opponents, it promised to restore their faith in the ability which took them all the way to a Wembley play-off seven months ago.

If they could have mustered the finishing touch that has also deserted Leeds, Barnsley's players - currently just five points clear of a relegation spot - might have celebrated a famous victory over their neighbours, who pocketed a win bonus for the first time in four matches.

Striker Neil Shipperley said: 'If we play like that in the League we'll be OK. Teams come here and get embarrassed, but we can hold our heads up.' Caretaker boss Eric Winstanley said: 'We're proud of the performance but disappointed not to win. Technically, we've got it right and we should no longer question our ability. A lot can come out of this, we can take it on to better things.' As it happens, it will be Nigel Spackman who will pursue those better things, with the former Chelsea midfielder taking up the full-time manager's post at Oakwell from today, after beating Steve Bruce to the job. Leeds manager O'Leary, fielding £12million Robbie Keane just behind Viduka and the recalled Alan Smith, was hoping for the comprehensive win that might rekindle the Premiership fire as well as being a confident first stride on the temporary road to the Millennium Stadium. Instead, all he had to show for a dominant first half was Viduka's 14th goal of the season and a couple of near-misses before Barnsley began to out-gun Leeds' tough midfield trio, with Bruce Dyer stepping off the bench to bolster the attack.

Viduka admitted: 'We weren't as convincing as we'd have liked. We thought we'd be able to step up a gear in the second half but that didn't happen, and we should have done a lot better.

'Barnsley had nothing to lose, they were playing for everything and we found it hard to deal with the pressure.

'But it was important that we got this result and got into the next round, because we've had a bit of a slump recently. Hopefully, this will kickstart us.' Alex Neil might have emerged the hero for barnsley had his late volley from a corner not sped unerringly into Paul Robinson's perfectlypositioned frame, though the teenage Scot was lucky not to be booked for an attempt to con a first-half penalty out of Graham Poll.