Barnsley U18s 2 (Nana 2)
Derby County U18s 1
Barnsley’s Under 18s came from behind to win 2-1 at home to Derby County as striker Nana notched his seventh and eighth goals of the season against the Rams.
Lead Academy Coach Mark Burton said, “It was a decent game on a heavy, dead pitch – and it’s always difficult to adapt to those conditions when you’re wanting to play football.
Despite starting positively, the Reds went behind to an early goal and had to dig deep to eventually find the leveller through Nana.
“They got a foothold in the game and they had the momentum so we had to change things tactically,” added Burton.
“It seemed to work and get us back into it without scoring a goal. We got our passing game going and took the game to Derby.”
George Maris was the architect for Nana to tap home before adding his second and what proved to be the winner against the Rams. Chadderton set the Reds on their way for a counter, and Maris once again teed up Nana with a smart delivery from the right after beating his marker.
“We were comfortable and managed to see the game out,” continued Burton. “Derby didn’t really threaten us after that. The lads worked for it although it wasn’t a pretty game but we got better as the game went along.
“On a surface like that it was never going to be pretty but we got the result we deserved.”
Reds: Chadderton, Moore, Bree, Holgate, Freeman, Biggins, Martin, Maris, Pilkington (Gooda), Templeton, Nana.
