Peterborough United were relegated from the Coca-Cola Championship, but put in a superb performance at Oakwell against Barnsley and if it wasn't for Peterborough-born Luke Steele, Jim Gannon's men may have collected maximum points.

Posh, wearing their blue and white away strip, started well and Tommy Rowe should have done better with a header following a Dominic Green cross, but he directed his effort well off target.

At the other end, James McKeown dealt with two shots from range to calm his nerves. Posh opened the scoring on five minutes as defender Ryan BENNETT turned and hooked the ball past goalkeeper Steele after a good header down from Geohaghon.

The lead didn't  last long though and it was through some poor defending from Posh as McKeown's difficult clearance was miss-controlled by Bennett allowing Hammill to advance and his low cross was turned it at the back post by Iain HUME.

Gilbert limped out of the action on 17 minutes with Reuben Reid replacing him. Exodus Geohaghon and Ryan Bennett were displaying some fine touches on the ball and delivering some excellent crossfield passes as Posh played with confidence.

Luke Potter fired wide of the target on the half hour mark after a deep corner kick from Hume, but chances were few and far between for the hosts in the early exchanges of this Championship clash.

McKeown did well to deny Martin Devaney on 33 minutes after a good burst into the box before Reid showed good pace to break for Posh only to be hauled down by Butterfield. Potter should have scored on 38 minutes after he was afforded plenty of time in the box, but he glanced his header wide of the target.  

McKeown produced a fine stop from point blank range to deny Macken after a superb run down the left by the impressive Hammill, who was certainly showing a clean pair of heels when attacking the full-back. A powerful shot from Torres was well blocked by Stephen Foster on the stroke of half-time as Posh again played some neat football. Geohaghon was booked for a foul on Hume in the build-up to a Barnsley attack.

Half-time: Barnsley 1-1 Posh

Substitute Romone McCrae nearly headed past McKeown moments after he was introduced at right-back, but the goalkeeper did well to gather. Frecklington was denied on 50 minutes by Steele although the low shot was comfortable for the former Posh shot-stopper.

Frecklington fired wide from long distance after gaining possession 30-yards from goal as the Tykes crowd began to show their frustrations. McKeown produced a stunning save to deny Foster who rose unchallenged from a corner to power a header at goal, the youngster showing great reflexes to stop the ball from nestling in the back of the net.

Posh then lost Mills to a hamstring injury with Mackail-Smith coming on his place. Barnsley then wasted two glorious chances, first Hume struck the inside of the post from close-range before Hammill fired wide of the target from eight yards as the ball rebounded into his path.

Great work from Torres created a half chance for Reid, but he couldn't wrap his foot around his shot and the ball trickled wide. Reid showed great pace to burst into the box on 70 minutes, but his shot was well saved by Steele, who did well to narrow the angle.

Gabriel Zakuani produced a superb block to deny Hammill as Barnsley upped the tempo in search of the winning goal with Posh defending fantastically well and McKeown was doing his bit too, denying Devaney from distance.

Mackail-Smith was then twice denied by Steele, the second save very impressive, clawing the ball away with his left hand. Zakuani headed the corner kick wide. The pace of Mackail-Smith was causing all sorts of problems and he was denied again by Steele, but the goalkeeper could do nothing moments later as Tommy ROWE lashed the home from 25-yards with his left foot.

Torres was next to try his luck, again Steele denied him and Posh, were playing out of their skins. Reid was then denied by the overworked Steele before Barnsley made a triple change. It worked for the Tykes as on 84 minutes they were level as HUME rounded McKeown and slotted into an empty net.

Reid fired over as Posh pressed again and this encounter was end to end with both side's going for maximum points. Frecklington lashed a 25-yard shot inches past the post on 88 minutes after a corner was only half cleared. De Silva had the ball in the back of the net in stoppage time, but the offside flag cut short the celebrations. Mackail-Smith was then denied once more by Steele before the striker again found the shot-stopper in unbelievable form as he raced clear, saving with his legs before Reid hooked over.

Final Score: Barnsley 2-2 Posh

Barnsley: Steele, Hassell, Foster, Moore, Potter, Hammill, Butterfield (sub Doyle 80min), Colace, Devaney (sub De Silva 80min), Hume, Macken (sub Gray 80min). Unused subs: Preece,  Thompson, El Haimour, Noble-Lazarus.  

Posh: McKeown, Gilbert (sub Reid 17min), Zakuani, Bennett (sub McCrae 46min), Griffiths, Geohaghon, Green, Torres, Rowe, Frecklington, Mills (sub Mackail-Smith 63min) . Unused subs: Cole, Day, Crook, Simpson.