Reds Head Coach Paul Heckingbottom spoke to the press following the 2-0 friendly victory away at League One side Peterborough United.
Goals from Josh Scowen and Stefan Payne either side of half-time ensured that the pre-season preparations finished with a victory.
Heckingbottom said, “The two things that really pleased me is how competitive the game was, so it was good to be stretched and there was a real edge to the game. It’s worked out perfect for us that Peterborough had a real go.
“From the two centre forwards working their socks off, to the full-backs, everyone has had a test like what they will come up against next week.”
He continued, “The second thing was the clean sheet. They had a right go at us and we stuck in and managed to keep a clean sheet. We wanted to progress pre-season and get some real tests, and then put a League One team in who we thought would be as close as we can get to a Championship team. We were coming here trying to win the game and obviously Peterborough did the same and it made it a really competitive game.”
Scowen and Payne both scored headers in the 2-0 victory and Heckingbottom explained that it’s no coincidence after what he spoke about the players about during the week.
He said, “Josh’s eyes lit up this week when I said he could go up for set-pieces. He had a cheeky grin after the goal.”
Then commenting on the second goal, Heckingbottom said, “It was a good ball from Yids (Yiadom). We’ve been speaking to our full-backs and wide men about deliveries into the box, they all have to contribute, not just the wide men. Our full-backs are big attacking weapons for us.”
After Adam Davies was injured in training during the week, it gave Nick Townsend a second consecutive start.
“Nick made a couple of good saves.” Stated the Reds Head Coach. “The players they’ve got, we know they shoot from distance, so Nick was ready for it and was tested a few times. To be fair on one or two he had to be quick off his line as well, he had a good game.”
Watch full reaction from Paul Heckingbottom over on Barnsley Player HD.