It was only four years ago that Barnsley performed exceptionally well in the FA Cup to reach the semifinals.
It still remains as one of the greatest achievements by a lower league team in recent seasons, but they could not repeat their magic once again in the 2012 FA Cup. Barnsley were knocked out by the Premier League Swansea at their home. This was despite the heroic performances of Barnsley striker Ricardo Vaz Te. Ricardo Vaz Te came into the match on a remarkable scoring run, which has so far helped the club avoid relegation trouble.
However, even he could not prevent Swansea from winning the tie 4-2. The result puts Barnsley out of the FA Cup in the third round for the fourth consecutive year after they reached the 2008 semifinals. Back then, Barnsley beat a Liverpool side at Anfield in one of the major shocks of the decade. Even though Barnsley still had four members of that famous squad, they could not overcome a Swansea side, which has been doing well in the Premier League since their promotion. Vaz Te opened the scoring in the 29th minute, but they could not hold the lead for long, as Rangel equalised for Swansea.
Swansea went ahead through Graham in the 46th minute, while Dyer helped Swansea get a foothold on the match with their third goal on the 54th minute. Just when it seemed that Swansea were looking to get into the cruise control mode, Vaz Te once again put things back in contention with a goal on the 65th minute. This made the score 3-2 and it was extremely nervous for Swansea to relax for a little bit. However, the Premier League quality showed in the end, as Swansea scored close to injury time through another effort from Graham.