Barnsley centre-back Liam Kitching is now the most popular amongst Barnsley fans as he will ever be. In the 96th minute, he surged up the pitch to put Barnsley 4-2 up and secure the win which ended Sheffield Wednesday's 23-game unbeaten run. The goal perfectly encapsulates the type of player he is and highlights his willingness to run himself ragged for 3 points
The 23-year-old centre-back has been impressive in a red shirt this season but could you could make the argument that he is Barnsley's best player?
Liam Kitching has been a mainstay in the Barnsley XI this season having played 2947 league minutes this season, only his centre-back partner and Barnsley captain Mads Andersen has played more.
He is as solid of a defender as you could get but his contribution to this Barnsley side is much greater than just his defensive contributions.
ATTACKING CONTRIBUTION
A large amount of Barnsley goals come from diagonal passes from the left side of the pitch to the right corner of the pitch where Jordan Williams meets the ball and crosses into the box. The most recent example of this is Adam Phillips' goal against Derby, Herbie Kane plays a diagonal ball to the right of the pitch where Norwood meets the pass, he passes it back to Jordan Williams who then passes to Adam Phillips on the edge of the box, Phillips shoots and Barnsley go 2-0 up.
The player who passes the majority of those diagonal passes is Liam Kitching. Kitching attempts 11.5 long passes per 90 (the average for defenders is 8.9) and also plays 1 cross-field ball (a pass that travels more than 40 yards in width of the pitch) per 90 minutes - the average amongst centre-backs is 0.5.
Let's take a look at an example of a Liam Kitching diagonal pass that can lead to a Barnsley goal:
The move starts with the ball at Liam Kitching's feet. He then plays a long diagonal pass to the right wing-back Jordan Williams.
Williams then touches the ball down and passes into the free space in the box. Matty Wolfe runs to pick the ball up and plays it across the goal.
Devante Cole meets Matty Wolfe's pass and puts Barnsley into the lead.
The above passage of play has been repeated countless times and led to many Barnsley goals, earlier on in the season especially.
Kitching's attacking input doesn't end with cross-field balls, his attacking overlaps, forward runs with the ball and progressive passes also contribute to the attack and put Barnsley on the front foot immediately.
Liam averages 3.5 passes into the final third per 90 minutes (the average amongst centre-backs is 2.8) he also averages 0.38 passes into the opposition's penalty area.
He attempts to dribble past opponents 0.88 times per 90 (average is 0.37) and has 0.5 successful dribbles per 90 (average is 0.22).
The third goal against Plymouth will be remembered for Nicky Cadden's superb free-kick but if we rewind to where the move started: Liam Kitching picks the ball up on the edge of Barnsley's 18-yard box, he drives with the ball all the way to the halfway line in the 90th minute and passes to Luke Thomas who wins a foul, Cadden steps up to take the resulting free kick and rest is history. The move starts with Kitching picking up the ball on the edge of his own 18-yard box.
DEFENSIVE CONTRIBUTION
Liam Kitching has been an ever-present member of Barnsley's defence this season. Barnsley have conceded just 29 goals this season, only Sheffield Wednesday have conceded less.
He has great a good relationship with his centre-back partner and reds captain Mads Andersen and has developed greatly under Michael Duff. He is a player who clearly enjoys the art of defending - putting in blocks, making interceptions and smashing into anyone who wants it.
This season, he has won 27 tackles whilst averaging 2 interceptions per 90 and 1.62 blocks per 90. Liam's defensive impact is immeasurable, he's a tough tackler and hard as nails.
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