ADVANTAGE TROTTERS
But never-say-die rally cry Josh the ticket for brave Barnsley
BARNSLEY defender Josh Earl has warned buoyant Bolton their League One play-off is not over yet.
Two goals from Dion Charles and another direct from a corner from Randell Williams put Bolton in charge of the tie in a 3-1 first-leg win at Oakwell on Friday night.
But Barnsley have one of the best away records in the division with 12 wins in the regular season and Earl says they are not phased by the prospect of Tuesday night at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
“They beat us by two goals. Why can’t we beat them by two goals on Tuesday? We’ve just got to go and put some work in at training on Sunday and try and figure out how we’re going to do it,” said Earl (below).
“The pressure’s off us now really in a sense. We’re two goals behind but we can thrive off that. As soon as you get one back you never know what can happen.
“We’ve got to go and approach it with the mindset that we can get a goal. It could be a freak goal for us on Tuesday that kick-starts it. It could be anything that just kick-starts a good performance from us on Tuesday. “We’ll be going there with every intention to go and win the game.” Bolton – unbeaten in their last eight matches – have put themselves in touching distance of a Wembley final against either Peterborough or Oxford United but manager Ian Evatt is guarding against over-confidence. He said: “Barnsley are a momentum team and if you give them momentum they can hurt you and cause you problems, so we have to manage that better and stay focused for 90-plus minutes. “There’s nothing achieved just yet. This is a collective responsibility. The players, myself, the staff are responsible for Tuesday. But we need the fans as well. “We need it to be raucous, intense and intimidating for the opponents and to really back the players to get the job done.”