Barnsley Academy complete a clean swipe of victories in Malta
Barnsley Academy beat a strong International Maltese U19 side 4-1 at the national stadium training grounds. It was the third time in three matches that the young Reds scored four goals against the opposition.
George Smith, a first year scholar, opened the scoring on the back of a great team move. The Malta U19 side managed to draw level going into the half time break.
Both sides had played some really good football, but in the second half Barnsley moved up a gear and were much too strong for the International side.
Rhys Oates put Barnsley back into the lead after a great run down the left playing a neat one two with Brad Abbott before slotting the ball beyond the Maltese keeper.
Brad Abbott got himself onto the scoresheet for the Reds third goal after some great team play before switching play to Kenna on the right who laid the ball on for Abbott to finish.
The fourth goal was a real gem from Erico Sousa who grabbed his third goal of the Maltese tour. After running down the left hand side from ten yards inside his own half, he came in to the centre and curled the ball into the top corner from 30 yards to cap an excellent performance against a very capable and physically strong Maltese side who themselves looked comfortable in possession.
The victory was a fitting end to the Academy's pre-season tour in Malta, scoring 12 goals in three games and conceding just once. The Academy will head back to Barnsley on Sunday night and will continue their pre-season build up on Wednesday with another match.