Barnsley Under 21s 1
Sheff Utd Under 21s 3
Barnsley U21’s met with Sheffield United U21’s on Oakwell’s development pitch, in a Yorkshire derby which saw Chris Morgan’s travelling Blades take all three points after the score finished 3-1.
After a tentative start from both sides, it was Paul Heckingbottom’s Reds who struck first in this four-goal bout when Brad Abbott fired arguably the goal of the game into the top corner of the net from 25-yards out, just after the half-hour mark.
The Reds managed to carry their one-goal advantage into the second half, however United were denied an early penalty just moments after the restart much to the disbelief of boss Chris Morgan.
Barnsley defender Andre Jones tangled with an advancing United striker, however the referee chose only to award a corner after a scrambled shot resulted in an instinctive save from keeper Christian Dibble. However, Dibble could do nothing about United’s next attempt on goal which mirrored Brad Abbot’s first-half wonder strike. A crisp half-volley from United’s Keith Fahey nestled in the top corner of the net leaving Dibble scratching his head in disbelief.
The equaliser seemed to deflate the Reds momentarily, which resulted in a second Sheffield United goal. After defender Sam Patterson failed to clear a teasing cross from the right flank, United striker Bunn pounced on the loose ball and finished calmly. United’s final goal came just after the hour mark; a long-ball from the United back-four eluded the Barnsley defence, and required a desperate headed clearance from 'keeper Christian Dibble who found himself just outside his penalty area. Yet Dibble’s header failed clear the danger, and dropped to the feet of a lurking Bunn who slotted the ball into an open goal for his second, giving his side a two goal advantage and all three points.
The Reds did later have chances to reduce the deficit however, Heckingbottom’s side failed to capitalise on these. The best of these fell to captain Paul Digby; when the midfielder’s close range effort was expertly touched onto the bottom of the post by the United 'keeper.
Reds: Dibble, Patterson, Tunnicliffe, Jones, Nyatanga, Sousa (Joyce 62),Digby(c), Abbott, Noble-Lazarus (Smith 80), Oates, Clark.
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