Bolton U18s 1 Reds U18s 3
Barnsley’s youngsters claimed a deserved victory over a hard-working Bolton side, whilst putting in yet another impressive performance on Saturday.
The Reds took a 1-0 lead into half time after a 20-pass move saw Mo Saeed add to his impressive goal tally for the season after Louis Rowe had played the ball across from the right.
Just after half time Bolton equalised, but the young Reds were not disheartened. Again, slick passing and sticking to the shape they had worked on, Barnsley went back in front through energetic midfielder Jack Alton as he seized upon an opening in the Bolton defence to make the score 2-1.
With the game coming to an end, a typical lung-bursting run forward from Louis Wardle saw the Reds make it 3-1. Wardle sprinted past the Bolton defence with ease before squaring it to Mo Saeed to grab his second of the match.
Head of Academy Coaching Mark Burton gave his thoughts after the match about his side’s victory.
“We’ve played better this season and not got the result!” said Burton. “It’s all about the development of the lads and getting players in the first team, but this time we got the rewards.
“We let Bolton have some possession and kept our shape, but then we scored a great goal. We didn’t force anything, just kept it short and after 20 passes we scored a goal that you’d see on Match of The Day and think ‘wow.’
“We then grew in confidence and when we made it 3-1 the lads went crazy. The unwarranted pressure of results is not something they need, they will win some and lose some. As long as they’re trying to do things right they’ll get better.”
