Darrell Clarke was pleased with his Barnsley side as they recorded a second win in three games against Shrewsbury Town.
Jonathan Rusell and Max Watters scored either side of the half as The Tykes comfortably dispatched Paul Hurst’s side in Shropshire. Combined with a draw against Charlton Athletic and a win over Blackpool, Barnsley are now three unbeaten, putting that streak of just one win in seven behind them.
Lessons Learnt From Cobblers Draw
One of Clarke’s biggest gripes with his side has been their inability to see out results, most prominently at home to Northampton Town in August. Barnsley were 2-0 up going into the last 20 minutes but Jon Brady’s team levelled the contest within the space of five minutes and held out for a draw.
Breaking down the win over Shrewsbury, the former Cheltenham Town boss said (Quotes via Yorkshire Post):
“It was a good response from the players. I thought we were pretty dominant first half and we got the goals by the start of the second half.
“It was a great finish by Jon Russell, who has come into the team the past three games and has been excellent.
“From the back to the middle third to the final third, we created chances. It was pleasing to get the goal on half-time.
“We’ve lost some points from winning positions this season; I go back to the Northampton game where we were 2-0 up. We should see the game out the right way and take unnecessary risks and it ends 2-2, but the players learned that today.”
Writer’s View
Shrewsbury Town are one of the league’s struggling sides but that does not detract from Barnsley’s performance at The New Meadow. Barring a late flurry for Salop, they looked comfortably in charge and limited their opponents to five shots which rarely threatened Ben Killip. It is the perfect time to build more momentum than they have right now into back-to-back games against League Two opposition, including against Doncaster Rovers before their big league South Yorkshire derby against Rotherham United. If they can best Steve Evans at Oakwell, they will be right on track to match last season’s play-off finish.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.
