Barnsley U18 vs Bristol City U18 on 27 Aug 22 - Match Centre

Our U18s fought hard and produced a dominant display in a 2-0 win over Bristol City at the Oakwell Training Ground on Saturday afternoon.

An early lead courtesy of Fabio Jalo was doubled by Theo Chapman late on in the second half to earn the young Reds their second win of the Professional Development League campaign.

Proceedings took a lively start with Barnsley seeing the majority of the ball and creating a greater number of chances. An instrumental figure in these attacks, Jalo, found himself in a tremendous position in the final third of the pitch, only for the referee to pull play back for an earlier foul.

Minutes later, Jalo found himself in acres of space yet again but this time with no worry of an offside flag. The striker smashed the ball low, hard and confidently into the bottom right-hand corner to give his side the lead.

Our visitors had more possession after the opener but were struggling to create anything of notable value, something Barnsley were doing plenty of.

Jalo found himself in another shooting position, albeit from a tight angle, as the opposition keeper came running off his line which forced our forward to rush his chipped effort. It sailed just over the bar and out for a Robins goal kick.

The Reds came agonisingly close to doubling their lead when a cross from Jalo whizzed over a leaping Josiah Dyer and to the feet of Josh McKay. The wing-back then unleashed a powerful shot which was blocked brilliantly by a visiting defender.

City then began to grow into the game and were seeing the majority of the ball. Despite this, the southwest outfit were still struggling test Rogan Ravenhill between the Barnsley sticks. The goalkeeper claimed everything comfortably and looked as solid as ever.

Perhaps the best of their chances came just before the half-time whistle, when a curling cross came close to causing issues, before an outstretched Ravenhill clawed the ball clear of any danger.

HALF-TIME: Barnsley 1-0 Bristol City

The introduction of Chapman, Luis Lacey and Vimal Yoganathan at the beginning of the second half would prove to be vital in Barnsley’s hunt for a second goal.

The Reds were enjoying the lion’s share of possession and were frequently testing the Bristol City defence. An ever-present player in their attacks was Chapman, who was looking to cause attacking problems and put the game to bed.

Our visitors were visibly frustrated with their lack of goal scoring opportunities and were giving away a number of fouls.

One of these fouls resulted in a free-kick which should’ve ended in a Barnsley goal. Lacey’s cross into the box from the halfway line was half-heartedly caught by the Bristol City keeper who spilled the ball back into play. The Reds now had an open goal but by the time they had regained possession, the visiting shot stopper was back in position to eliminate the danger.

Barnsley would eventually double their lead with just over 10 minutes to go, as Chapman unleashed a powerful, low driven strike into the bottom of the net from range. The midfielder, who recently made his return from injury, gave the keeper no chance of stopping it and our U18s had a thoroughly deserved two-goal lead.

The dying embers of the game were fairly quiet, with the only notable chances being presented to strike partners Jalo and Leo Farrell.

Jalo ran with the ball from the corner, danced through the opposition defence and very nearly found the top corner, whereas Farrell saw his strike hit into the side netting from a tight angle.

Soon after, the full-time whistle sounded and Barnsley were rewarded with their well-earned three points.

FULL-TIME: Barnsley 2-0 Bristol City

REDS XI: Ravenhill (GK), McKay, Pickard, Bland, Brace, Joof, Monteiro, Makessi, Dyer (C), Benjamin, Jalo.

Subs: Carter-Rogers (GK), Chapman, Farrell, Lacey, Yoganathan.

BARNSLEY FOOTBALL CLUB

U18S CLAIM VICTORY OVER ROBINS