THE last time a North-East side travelled to Barnsley in the Championship their fans took up a third of the stadium and constantly chanted the name of their chairman who was sitting just a few feet away from them.

The support was vociferous as their side seemed on an unstoppable march back to the Premier League.

That was in March 2007 and the club in question were Sunderland.

On Saturday there was a repeat performance but in this case the songs directed at the Newcastle United hierarchy sitting in the directors’ box were far from complimentary.

It seemed a little surprising that owner Mike Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias chose to attend the game at Oakwell.

The fans were virtually on top of them and the abuse directed at the so-called “Cockney mafia” was constant throughout the 2-2 draw. They did, however, have Joey Barton between them and the Newcastle fans so they probably felt a little safer.

The animosity towards the owners, however, shows no signs of abating and there appears no way back, despite a decision to take the club off the market.

Why try to sell a Championship club in a recession for £100m when it’s likely to be worth double that in the Premier League with the economy in better shape?

The fans will back their team but they will also continue to verbally abuse Messrs Ashley and Co until they sell up.

That will not be until they are a Premier League club and there appears little in the Championship to stop them returning to the top flight at the first attempt.

They may have irked Ashley and Llambias in the stands but the manager was in no mood to criticise the 7,000 away following after the game.

“They were outstanding.

The effect it has is a real appreciation from this group of lads on a cold Saturday afternoon just before Christmas that 7,000 can turn up for a game knowing there’s a home game on Sunday,” said Hughton.

“They’re massive. It works both ways. The supporters are demanding and expect us to do well but we have a group of lads who fully appreciate what they can give us.

“You always feed off that.

At home you almost expect it because they turn up – more than 42,000 and possibly bigger than that for Middlesbrough.

“The players feed off that but it’s special away from home because the opposition support is vocal and you know you’re up against it. So to have that support is special.”

They couldn’t roar their team to an eighth straight win but they were up against one of the league’s form sides, who have one of the brightest young managers in the game in Mark Robins.

The home fans may have struggled to cope with their opponents in the stands but their players were more than a match for the table-toppers.

The Tykes may have been second best in the opening half but they were quicker to the ball and more determined after the break.

By half-time Newcastle were one up and were again guilty of sitting back expecting their defence to keep another clean sheet.

The first half goal came courtesy of Kevin Nolan – back after his one-game ban – who latched on to a flick from another returning player, Andy Carroll, to steer the ball past Luke Steele.

That was six minutes in and Jonas Gutierrez was terrifying the Barnsley defence. It all pointed to win number eight but, despite leading twice, it wasn’t to be, which was a major blow to the Argentinean winger.

Gutierrez said: “We should have won the game. To be in a winning position with five minutes to go and only come away with a draw was disappointing for us because we wanted to win the game.

“We should have kept the ball better. We had the opportunity to kill the game off but we didn’t do that and we ended up paying for that. We should have had another two points.

“The way we’ll look at it is that we’ve dropped two points. We should have seen the game out because we’re difficult to score against. We scored twice and we were ahead twice. When you do that you have to keep hold of the lead.”

Gutierrez himself should have extended that lead. He had the chance to make it two soon after the opener. He broke from defence but when he got on the end of a return ball from Ryan Taylor he could only direct his header straight at Steele.

Long-range efforts from Ryan Taylor and Nicky Butt were the main threats afterwards and it appeared clear they would face an early barrage from the home side after the break.

The barrage came and so did the equaliser. Carroll needlessly gave the ball away and when it went out to Anderson De Silva on the right he crossed to the back post for Emil Hallfredsson to smash into the roof of the net.

Barnsley’s best chance to go in front saw Jose Enrique clear the ball off the line from Ryan Shotton’s header, but the home side were the most likely to snatch a winner.

With four strikers on the bench Hughton had an embarrassment of attacking riches and it was Marlon Harewood who gave Newcastle an undeserved lead.

Route one it was with 12 minutes left. Steve Harper cleared for Carroll to show again how important a targetman is in the Championship.

His flick-on was into the path of Harewood, who lobbed Steele, and the delirious away fans were expecting a celebratory trip back up to the North-East.

But Newcastle failed to defend an Adam Hammill corner and one of the smallest players on the pitch, Bobby Hassell, was able to head into the corner.

Match facts

Goals:

0-1: Nolan (6, slotted past Steele after flick on from Carroll)

1-1: Hallfredson (52, crashed ball in at far post after cross from De Silva)

1-2: Harewood (78, lobbed Steele from edge of area after set up from Carroll)

2-2: Hassell (87, headed in unmarked from Hammill’s corner)

Bookings: Carroll (90, ungentlemanly conduct), Moore (90, ungentlemanly conduct)

Referee: Graham Salisbury (Preston) – allowed the game to flow and kept cards in his pockets till late on) 8

Attendance: 20,079

Entertainment: ✰✰✰

BARNSLEY (4-4-2): Steele 6; Hassell 7, Shotton 6, Moore 7, Dickinson 6; De Silva 7 (Hammill, 84), Colace 6, Doyle 6, HALLFREDSSON 8, Gray 6, Bogdanovic 5 (Hume, 90).

Subs (not used): Preece, Kozluk, Potter, Campbell-Ryce, Macken.

NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-5-1):

6 Harper: A few scares with his handling but his defence were at fault for both Barnsley’s goals;

6R Taylor: Started well but will be unhappy with the Tykes opener

5 S Taylor: Both goals from crosses won’t please the centre-back

5 Coloccini: Good first half but not the force he has been in recent weeks

6 Enrique: Supported Gutierrez down the flank but not as good defensively

5 Pancrate: Offered little down the right and much more is expected of the Frenchman

6 Smith: Typically industrious performance and managed to complete a game without a booking

5 Butt: Worked well alongside Smith in front of the back four in the opening half but tired late on

6 Nolan: Goal number ten but caught in possession too often

6 Gutierrez: Barnsley couldn’t cope with him in the first half but little impact after the break

7 CARROLL: Gave the ball away for Barnsley’s first goal but set up both Newcastle’s goals

Subs:

Harewood (for Gutierrez 69) - expert finish for his fourth Newcastle goal 7 Khizanishvilli (for Pancrate 80) Ranger (for Enrique 80) (not used): Krul; Simpson, Lovenkrands, Ameobi.

MAN OF THE MATCH

EMIL Hallfredsson – appeared to have more time on the ball than any other player on the pitch and got his side back into the game after the break.