BARNSLEY FOOTBALL CLUB

Reds defender Tom Kennedy was delighted to score his first goal in four-and-a-half years to help Barnsley beat Charlton 2-1 at The Valley.

“Obviously the win was the most important thing,” said Kennedy, speaking to the press.

“To score a goal in this massive, massive game was extra special.“It was a cross but it had some movement on it. It’s hit a bobble and I’ve gone to put my hands on my head to think ‘that’s not very good’ and it’s ended up in the top stanch so I’ll take that any day of the week.”

It was Kennedy’s first goal since a penalty against Barnet in October 2009, but it was just the slice of luck the Reds deserved, Kennedy stressed.“The last few weeks we’ve played better than the results that we’ve got,” he continued.

“We’ve not had the rub of the green and we’ve had some great chances and they’ve not gone in. We had a bit of luck and mine dropped in.

“We were up for it. We knew how big a game it was and we had prepared right – just like we have done for the last few games where we’ve been playing well. Whichever way you look at it, we’ve played some good teams and we’ve matched them most of the time.

“There’re a lot of twists and turns to go from now until the end of the season. We’re trying to drag more teams in and around us.

“We’re dragging other teams who thought they were safe closer to us. Maybe they’re not used to this sort of battle because we’ve been battling all season and we know what it’s like.”