It's amazing what two football matches in four days can do to reflect one's mood and opinion.
A long-awaited clean sheet at Blackburn with a euphoric late winner was followed up by a drab display punished once again by two set-piece goals to bring the club crashing back to reality.
There was no doubt Barnsley, considering they are fighting for their lives, were going to come at City from the first whistle but Nigel Pearson's side were slow out the starting blocks are were duly punished.
Two corners from the left side were the downfall and two bad pieces of defending remained the difference on a forgettable night at Oakwell.
To rub further salt in the wound, City saw Alex Scott and Joe Williams come off with injuries while Antoine Semenyo also hobbled towards the dugout near the end of the contest.
A bad night all round and with plenty to work on ahead of Saturday's game with West Brom, here are the talking points.
Joe Williams' injury heartbreak
The manager has constantly emphasised the need to manage the midfielder's minutes considering his time in BS3 has been dogged by a series of injuries.
Before his hamstring injury picked up against Stoke in November, Williams had managed to play just 90 minutes on two occasions during the season.
He eventually made a return at Luton at the end of January before making his third start of the campaign on February 9, in the 2-1 win over Reading.
Since then, Pearson has been cautious with easing him back into action despite the lack of central midfield options at his disposal with Andy King ruled out for the season.
With three games in a week, Han-Noah Maasengo was reintroduced into the fold with Williams starting on the bench but after 39 minutes, he was stripped and ready to come on after Alex Scott rolled his ankle - this is after 90 gruelling minutes against Rovers on Saturday.
On 55 minutes, Williams was down on the turf clutching his hamstring and he hobbled off straight down the tunnel as Nahki Wells came on to replace him.
After the match, Pearson confirmed it was a hamstring issue and if it's anything like his last one - that is likely to mean the midfielder won't be seen for the rest of the season.
It took him nine weeks, more or less, to make a return to the field following his last hamstring injury and his third in total this year. There are just over seven weeks of the season remaining with eight games to play.
It's tough to take for the manager and club but nobody will be feeling more deflated than Williams, should the worst be confirmed today when he goes for tests.
Speaking last Thursday to the media, Williams revealed his relief and happiness to get back on the field again and admitted he was still yet to find his full fitness but felt on the right track.
What's more, he had turned in a handful of really impressive performances with the victories against Middlesbrough and Blackburn two that standout in the memory.
This is likely to be a case of one step forward two steps back and even if there is a chance he could return before the season end, perhaps it's wise to call this one a write-off and look ahead to next campaign.
The midfield issue for West Brom
With Williams almost certainly be ruled out, team-mate Alex Scott is also likely to be sidelined.
The 18-year-old wonderkid came off five minutes before the break when he innocuously went down clutching his ankle following an aerial duel inside his own box.
A quick assessment by the physio and Scott's evening was cut short, throwing his participation against West Brom at the weekend in serious jeopardy.
That is likely to leave Pearson threadbare with options in the middle of the park with Matty James, Massengo and Ayman Benarous his only real choices also throwing a question mark over how he can play the trio into a system that works.
Maybe it's wise to let the dust settle on last night's defeat first but jumping the gun but it will leave the manager with a real issue on his hands against the Baggies before the international break and one that needs to be addressed.
Pearson found a formula that worked against Rovers in playing a flat midfield three to sit and guard in front of the defence. Unsurprisingly he stuck with that again but that system was out the window when City went 2-0 down before Scott came off injured.
Those watching the contest would have been scratching their heads at the formation for that period before half-time when the shape appeared completely disjointed.
Back to the issue at hand. Firstly, James' performances following his return have been questionable to say the least. Struggled against Forest and Birmingham, decent against Rovers and a disappointing display against Barnsley.
In his defence, he seems to be still a yard off the pace following his return from injury but he needs to find some form and quickly now two of his team-mates are likely to be sidelined.
The same can be said for Massengo who looks a player devoid of confidence. He looks a shadow of the player we saw six weeks ago and desperately struggled to put his authority on the game - giving the ball away too easily.
It's no secret that Benarous is an exciting talent but he's only featured twice this year having made six league starts all season. The 18-year-old also prefers to play in an advanced role in midfield and therefore may not have the discipline to sit in that midfield trio.
Either way, Pearson needs Massengo and James to find their form or else the Baggies could have a field day playing through the middle of the park on Saturday.
The zonal marking madness
It's getting increasingly repetitive referring back to City's set-piece insecurities every other game (or so it seems.)
Pearson must feel like he's sounding like a broken record after most matches when he laments his side's defending and highlights the constant inconsistencies in performance.
One thing that remains consistent is the inability to defend crosses and despite all the undoubted countless hours spent on the training ground and watching video clips of matches, it still remains the Achilles heel.
If City were able to clear those two deliveries, the first of which was poor in itself, then they would have been trudging off that pitch with another clean sheet and a point.
The simple matter is, is that they can't and something has to give. For months now, the players have been involved in a mixture of man-marking and zonal marking with a handful of players standing on the six-yard box ready to attack the ball.
Dissecting the two goals last night, the first one is so poor it's difficult to know where to begin with it. A missed header at the front post sees the ball go past five City players huddled within about 5 yards of each other which then ricochets off a Barnsley man despite the presence of James before being poked home.
When the ball bounces up off the Barnsley player, Scott, Rob Atkinson, Massengo and Semenyo are all standing without a man while Klose can't get close enough to the goalscorer.
It was mass confusion in the area with little evidence to suggest what roles the players knew they were supposed to be undertaking.
The second goal is also confirmation that there need to be second thoughts when going down the zonal marking route.
Mikal Helik, who stands out 6ft 3, was handed a free run across the box before planting his header into the bottom corner. Robbie Cundy, who wasn't making anybody when the delivery came in, tried to best to reach it but to no avail.
The Barnsley manager admitted after the contest that his side did extra work on set-pieces in the build-up to the clash and it paid dividends. For City there must be a new approach to defending corners and leaving behind the zonal marking could be a step in the right direction.
Jay Dasilva's form
To pluck out a positive from the evening, there can be only one in the form of Dasilva.
He started out at left wing-back, switched over to the other flank and then was asked to play in a more forward position as the manager was forced to chop and change with his players dropping like flies.
Pearson has often shared his frustrations at players not being able to turn in consistent performances on regular occurrences but Dasilva seems to be one of very few players that is able to maintain a high standard back-to-back.
It was only in December that it appeared he would be heading for the exit door in January only to force his way back into the team.
Now he's emerging as one of the first names on the team-sheet, not necessarily because of City's lack of wing-backs - although it helps - but because he is earning his corn despite a difficult run of form.
Pearson namechecked Dasilva after the Blackburn game and tonight he was the only player who could arguably come out of the game with his head held high.
He linked up well with Semenyo on the left side during the first half and in the second played his part in two great chances. First, his delivery to Martin was headed over the crossbar before seeing a shot well saved by the keeper.
For a player who was looking increasingly likely to leave having fallen out of favour before the New Year, City may find that they will have to fend off offers for his signature in the summer.
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