Barnsley 1 (M'voto 88)
Manchester United XI 2 (Harrop 11, 32)
Barnsley came out second best at Oakwell this evening losing 2-1 to Warren Joyce’s young Manchester United reserves in their penultimate pre-season game before kicking off their League One campaign against Crawley a week on Saturday.
The game opened with a lively atmosphere as both sides enjoyed spells of possession but it was Warren Joyce’s young Manchester United side who struck first in the 11th minute.
Turning over play in the middle of the park - bossed by the impressive Pearson - United broke against the Tykes’ defence as Josh Harrop ran free and fired past Adam Davies in the Barnsley goal.
The Reds continued to pressure their opponents and had several chances in the following minutes seeing United keeper Joel Pereira guard his goal well.
After some impressive attacking moves from Barnsley, the Red Devils doubled their lead in the 32nd minute as Harrop grabbed his second of the game wriggling past the Tykes’ defence and again beating Davies, this time at his near post.
One of the Reds’ best chance of the half came almost straight after as Barnsley’s persistence was rewarded with a free-kick. United’s Pereira again stood strong in goal and successfully kept his side two in front. Good work from the Tykes stopped the visitors from creating anymore chances in the closing minutes of the half as Marcus Haber came close for the Reds seeing his shot go up over the bar.
Barnsley played out the remainder of the first forty five minutes with a long spell on the ball and the last kick of the half saw Nana Boakye-Yiadom miss the target for the Tykes.
Second half
Making two changes for the second period, Barnsley brought on Jean Yves-M’Voto and Dominic McHale as Nana Boakye-Yiadom and Brad Abbott went off.
Finding themselves behind after a Josh Harrop brace in the first half, Barnsley looked to take the game to the visitors after the break.
After almost 45 minutes of trying, the Reds were rewarded when substitute M’Voto headed past Pereira in the United goal with two minutes to go.
The Reds created their first chance five minutes into the second half as trialist Marcus Haber found space in the United box but he was dispossessed before being able to get a shot away.
Both teams then settled back for a period as the tempo of the game slowed. The half time changes to the team then made their impact and the Tykes were able to limit the United youngsters to long range efforts.
Regardless of the friendly nature of the game, several rash challenges slowed the play down and in an effort to bring his side back into things, Reds boss Wilson introduced Danny Rose to the proceedings.
Rose’s arrival prompted more chances for the Tykes as the side’s pace in the final third looked to be their deadliest asset.
With 18 minutes left to play, the Reds were awarded a free kick on the edge of the United box. Recent arrival Conor Hourihane took responsibility but to the dismay of the Barnsley faithful and his team mates, the captain’s shot went high over the bar.
Chances to get back into the game continued to come for the home side and a lack of communication in the United box saw Pereira in goal fumble a cross from Rose and almost present a clear chance for Barnsley.
Towering centre back M’Voto then went on a solo run from his own half beating several United midfielders before eventually being fouled and brought to a stop. Despite introducing James Wilson to the game in the final third, Joyce’s potential star was unable to make an impact.
Reds: Adam Davies, Darren McKnight, Martin Cranie, Lewin Nyatanga, Reuben Noble-Lazarus, James Bailey, Brad Abbott (McHale 46), Conor Hourihane, Nana Boakye-Yiadom (Noble-Lazarus 46), Marcus Haber (Rose 62),Sam Winnall.
Subs:Christian Dibble, Paul Digby, Jean-Yves M'Voto, Rhys Oats, Dominic McHale, Jordan Maris, Jack Cowgill, Danny Rose.
Man Utd XI:Joel Pereira, Marnick Vermijl, Tom Thorpe, Paddy McNair, Guillermo Varela, Ben Pearson, Andreas Pereira, Joe Rothwell, Saidy Janko, Tom Lawrence, Josh Harrop.
Subs:Kieran O'Hara, Ashley Fletcher, Donald Love, Callum Evans, Matthew Willock, Davide Petrucci, Sean Goss, James Wilson, Angelo Henriquez, Ryan McConnell.
Attendance: 3385 (135 away)
