COOKIE TAKES BISCUIT
Tykes boss counts crumbs
DANIEL STENDEL is already carving his name in Barnsley folklore — after the club’s best start to a season since 1946.
But the German boss, with four wins and three draws in his first seven league games, admits he found it hard to take seeing his side drop two points against Walsall.
The Tykes were on the front foot after victories over Gillingham and Oldham, in the Football League Trophy, already this month.
Stendel admitted: “I’m frustrated we did not win the game – if we had got the second goal then we win.”
Second-half substitute Victor Adeboyejo claimed the Reds’ goal only five minutes after coming on.
It might have been something of a fluke as his first effort was saved by Saddlers’ Liam Roberts who was beaten by a rebound off his own defender Jack Fitzwater.
But the Nigerian-born striker fluffed an easier chance in the 77th minute when put clean through by Kieffer Moore.
He only had Roberts to beat, but instead of picking his spot, shot straight at the goalkeeper.
Mamadou Thiam and Dimitri Cavare also wasted opportunities.
Stendel moaned: “I’m disappointed – we had three big, big chances to score. They were good
chances and I think in training we would have scored three times.”
Eventually they paid a painful price with Walsall substitute Andy Cook
firing home an equaliser with only two minutes left. He pounced on George Dobson’s through ball to beat 21-year-old Jack Walton and preserve Walsall’s run of seven games without defeat.
Saddlers boss Dean Keates said: “I told the players in the dressing room that we have gone toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the division.
“They are one of the favourites to go up and we were one of the favourites to go down.
“Anyone watching that match saw us draw and would say that was a fair result. Their goal had a couple of ricochets.”
Keates left it late to send on Cook, who had been dropped, but it turned into an inspired substitution.
Keates explained: “You are always going to get an opportunity and you have to keep going.”
But he was indebted to keeper Roberts who pulled off two reflex saves, at the end of each half.
Roberts turned Ethan Pinnock’s close-ranger header around the post with the last touch of the first half.
The keeper was also on his toes to stop George Moncur’s shot in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage-time and leave the teams where they had been at the start – third and fifth in the table.