TYKES PREPARE TO RAM THE REST
BARNSLEY boss Paul Heckingbottom is confident his team can ruffle a few feathers in the Championship this season.
They proved that point perfectly yesterday, deservedly beating Derby thanks to a goal in each half at a buzzing Oakwell.
Promoted from League One through the play-offs, the hosts were good value for their maiden victory back in the second tier, and appear to be ready for the battles that lie ahead.
Heckingbottom, who took over as permanent manager in the summer, said: “I’m really pleased for the lads. They showed a great team ethic and the work rate was unreal at times.
“We can take a whole lot of belief and confidence from this victory, and we’ll need it.
“Everybody knows the calibre and quality of teams in the Championship.
“It’s going to be a tough season, but we’ve shown against Derby that we’ve got good quality from one to 11 and we will be capable of causing every team problems.
“We’ve just got to try and maintain this level of performance. It’s going to be a lot about consistency.
“We defended brilliantly. Derby have real threat going forward as everybody knows, but aside from a couple of great saves from Adam Davies in the second half, we’ve kept them at bay.”
The Tykes fired themselves into a dream early lead, though there was an element of luck about the goal.
Young Liverpool loanee Ryan Kent neatly played in Conor Hourihane, and as the hosts’ midfielder crashed in an arrowing drive from 25 yards, the ball struck the post, bounced back out, before hitting keeper Scott Carson’s back and eventually trickling over the line.
Josh Scowen had already gone close for the Tykes at that point, but the remainder of the first period belonged to the Rams.
They plugged away in search of a leveller, but it wouldn’t come.
Craig Bryson fired disappointingly wide from 12 yards, while Darren Bent was thwarted by a brilliant saving tackle from Alfie Mawson.
Tom Ince lashed over from 25 yards in first-half stoppage-time.
The Tykes wrapped up their victory just three minutes after the restart, and there was no hint of luck this time as centre-back Mawson rose highest to head home Hourihane’s in-swinging free-kick.
Youngster Kent thumped an effort against the post as the hosts threatened to rub further salt in the Rams’ wounds, but late on it was Tykes keeper Adam Davies who was superb in keeping the visitors out.
He produced breath-taking reflexes to keep out separate efforts from Craig Forsyth and livewire sub Johnny Russell.
It proved to be a frustrating trip to South Yorkshire for Nigel Pearson. However, the Rams boss refused to get too uptight about a second Championship game without a goal.
He said: “It wasn’t a great performance. I know that and the players know that. We showed a number of frailties out there, but they are things that we can work on.
“We won’t start throwing our toys out of the pram or anything of that nature. Things haven’t quite been going for us so far, but we’ll work it out. The players get good support.
“The early second-half goal was exactly what we wanted to avoid. “We ended the first half feeling positive, but at the end of it all we just haven’t really created enough chances.”