Had this match been played five or six weeks ago League One MK Dons would have been strong favourites against a Barnsley side that looked sure to be relegated from the Championship. Under the management of David Flitcroft, however, the Tykes are a side transformed.
Since replacing Keith Hill on a permanent basis, the 39-year-old Flitcroft, who spent his playing career largely in the lower divisions, has overseen seven wins and a draw in eight games. Switching to a 3-5-2 formation is one of the reasons. The players relish the attacking freedom, and it shows. So easy and indeed fluent were they in the first half, the travelling Barnsley fans dusted off the old "Just like watching Brazil" chant from their Premier League days.
MK Dons, by contrast, have picked up one point from the four league games they have played since knocking out Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road in the previous round of this competition, and that too showed. Only after the break, when they were two down, did the home team start to play and rattle their Championship opponents.
Alan Smith, that old Leeds and Manchester United bruiser, came in for the cup-tied Izale Macleod for Dons, playing up front in an interchangeable and somewhat confusing formation, while Barnsley included two players who started their FA Cup semi-final against Cardiff at Wembley five years ago, goal-keeper Luke Steele and defender Bobby Hassell.
Their chances of getting at least as far again received an almost immediate boost when Jacob Mellis's long ball reached Chris Dagnall on the left side of the Dons penalty area. The former Scunthorpe striker looked up and with casual certainty struck his shot across the Dons goalkeeper, David Martin, and into the far corner of the net.
It might and perhaps should have been two shortly before the quarter-hour, when Dagnall again timed his run perfectly, this time into the right side of the area. Going for power instead of placement, he thumped his shot over the bar.
Five minutes later it was two. Lewington lazily allowed a ball down the right to reach Scott Wiseman, running from deep. The defender got to the byline and cut the ball back for Marlon Harewood to steer past Martin.
Again the pass was played by the former Chelsea trainee Mellis – of training ground smoke grenade notoriety – and he came close to putting the visitors three ahead early in the second half, with a swivelling volley a couple of feet wide.
Injury to Kelvin Etuhu caused a long delay before the Barnsley wing-back was carried off, and may have distracted the visitors. Within minutes, Dean Bowditch ran clear and coolly beat Steele to bring the previously silent Dons fans to life.
Now it was a different game. The Dons manager, Karl Robinson, switched things around, and Daniel Powell began to cause real problems for Barnsley on the left. It took a fine save from Steele to keep out Smith's header, and the same player half-volleyed high from well inside the penalty area soon afterwards.
The assistant referee had just signalled 12 minutes of added time when Barnsley clinched it. Again Dagnall ran clear, this time on to a David Perkins through ball: again he did not miss.
There was still time for Smith to get himself sent off for a daft and pointless challenge on Rory Delap, just for old time's sake.
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