Barnsley 4 Crewe 2
Reds 4 (Nana 55, Maris 63, 80, 87) Crewe 2
It’s not all about winning in youth football, but Barnsley Football Club Academy have done themselves no harm in notching a Club record sixth consecutive league victory.
A 4-2 victory at home to Crewe – which saw George Maris bang home a fine hat-trick – completed the record for the Barnsley youngsters.
Head of Academy Coaching, Mark Burton, told barnsleyfc.co.uk, “It was a windy day on a heavy pitch, so we thought it didn’t have the makings of a classic, but we played very well – particularly in the second half.”
The visitors took the lead from a corner early in the second half before Nana side-footed home the leveller on 55 minutes after great work down the left from George Smith.
“The second half took off after a first half of cancelling each other out,” continued Burton. “There was a lot of midfield play but once we got going – our football was superb.”
George Maris notched his first and Barnsley’s second after finishing from a corner just past the hour but when the pick of the goals was Maris’ second strike on 80 minutes.
A neat, 13-pass move eventually saw Maris rush in on goal and calmly dinked over the ‘keeper with an exquisite finish to make it 3-1.
The Alex did pull one back after an individual error allowed the visitors in, but Maris completed his hat-trick with three minutes of normal time remaining to wrap up the points.
Burton rounded off by adding, “After an even first half, we changed things and I thought we deserved to win. It was a really good performance and the third goal was a different class.”
Check out George Maris' excellent goal after a brilliant team move below.
Check out George Maris' excellent goal after a brilliant team move below.
