Head coach Conor Hourihane announces he will leave Barnsley at end of season

Conor Hourihane hailed one of Barnley’s “best performances” of the season as they snatched a last-gasp draw against Bradford with 10 men on the day he announced he would leave the club at the end of the season.

Vimal Yoganathan was shown a red card early on, only for Eoghan O’Connell to put Barnsley in front, but a Nick Powell effort and a Marc Roberts own goal turned the game in Bradford’s favour.

But Leo Farrell bundled the ball home six minutes into added time to send the home fans wild.

It was announced before the game that Hourihane and Barnsley had reached a mutual agreement for the head coach to leave his role at the end of the season.

He said: “I wanted to do it today. I wanted it to be out there.

“It was a general discussion between myself, board, club, how it’s going to look moving forward.

“And we came to the conclusion that it was best to part.

“Both parties felt that it’s probably the right choice.”

Bradford started the game well and Jenson Metcalfe went close twice early on.

Barnsley’s task got tougher when Yoganathan was shown a straight red card by referee Charles Breakspear for a lunging tackle on Ibou Touray just eight minutes in.

O’Connell atoned for an earlier miss when he latched on to a Roberts long-throw to open the scoring in the 50th minute.

Bradford levelled in the 73rd minute through Powell after some good work by former Barnsley man Stephen Humphrys on the wing.

Barnsley substitute Reyes Cleary was booked for simulation with 15 minutes left when replays showed he should have had a penalty for a foul by Harrison Ashby.

Bradford thought they had won it when Roberts headed into his own net in the 82nd minute, but substitute Farrell struck in the sixth minute of added time to give Barnsley a deserved draw.

On the game, Hourihane added: “I knew we’d suffer and be under pressure.

“I’m just thrilled that we got something from the game.

“I thought they were unbelievable – it was one of the best performances I think the lads have done all season in my opinion.”

Had Bradford held on a play-off place would have been all but assured.

Boss Graham Alexander said: “The goal early in the second half and the long throw was just really disappointing from our perspective.

“But fair play to the players for getting back into it.

“The subs came on, had a brilliant impact.

“We go 2-1 up and when the clock goes up with seven minutes we should see that game out.

“We let it slip through our fingers.”