CREWE U23S PREVIEW

7 December 2020

Barnsley U23s are back in action on Tuesday as they welcome Crewe Alexandra to the Oakwell Training Ground in the Professional Development League.

The young Reds are in fine fettle, winning their last four games and are unbeaten since the opening day.

On their last outing, Martin Devaney’s side came from a goal down to beat Birmingham City, with Dan Bramall and Cameron Thompson grabbing second half goals to claim all three points.

“We’re very confident,” insisted Jordan Helliwell. “We’re training well and going into the game thinking about us and, hopefully we can get a win and keep the good run going.”

Traditionally, this is a fixture that Barnsley have fared well in over the years, with the young Reds winning four of the last five meetings against Alex.

Jordan Helliwell in action for our U23s

Callum Styles scored twice including a stunning free-kick in the last meeting between the two sides as our U23s came from behind to triumph 4-1.

Momentum is key for Devaney’s young charges and another victory on Tuesday afternoon would see them leapfrog Sheffield United into third place – two points behind Hull City with a game in hand.

“If we beat Crewe, then we’ve got Wigan and Hull – if we win those, then I don’t see why we can’t push for a top two finish,” continued Helliwell.

“As you get a good run, everyone’s confidence is high. Everyone is playing better and we’re working as a team and getting the results.”

In accordance with government guidelines, this fixture will be played behind closed doors. You can keep up to date with in-game updates on our official Academy Twitter account: @AcademyBFC, starting with team news at 1pm.

Match Reports

U23S BEAT CREWE TO EXTEND WINNING RUN

8 December 2020

Charlie Winfield scored one and made the other as Barnsley U23s won their fifth match in a row on a frosty afternoon at the Oakwell Training Ground.

The home side took the lead three minutes into the second half, as Winfield swung in a corner that was nodded home by Cameron Thompson.

Just nine minutes later, Winfield turned scorer, smashing in Jordan Green’s cutback from the right to double the Reds’ lead.

Tyreece Onyeka gave the visitors hope with a late deflected strike after taking advantage of the ball dropping kindly at his feet, but the Railwaymen were unable to find an all-important equaliser.

Victory was entirely deserved for Barnsley, but prior to Winfield’s double intervention, a combination of spurned chances and a well-drilled Crewe side had kept the match goalless.

First Elliot Simoes went close, before visiting stopper Sam Booth was forced to gather strikes from the edge of the box.

HALF-TIME: Barnsley 0-0 Crewe Alexandra

The Reds continued to pressurise Alex hard as the second half got underway, and finally got their reward with Thompson and Winfield’s respective strikes.

A third goal would not have flattered Barnsley, but it wasn’t forthcoming, and the match did almost turn on its head when Onyeka pulled one back.

Cutting the deficit in half put a spring into Crewe’s step, and they briefly threatened late on when Onyeka was unable to quite run onto a through ball that would have left him one-on-one with Henry Kendrick with ten minutes remaining.

Ultimately, as much as a dominant performance was not reflected in the scoreline, the three points and continuation of the winning run is what will matter most to the young Reds.

FULL-TIME: Barnsley 2-1 Crewe Alexandra

REDS XI: Kendrick (GK), Helliwell, Moon, Trialist, Green (Ariely, 60), Binns (Lancaster, 64), Christie-Davies, Winfield, Simpson, Simoes, Thompson (Calligan, 60).

Not used: Brown, Sherlock.

CREWE XI: Booth, Billington, Williams, McDonald, O’Riordan, Fenton, Levey, Robbins, Salisbury, Onyeka, Marsden.