Barnsley U23s coach Paul Harsley heaped praise on his players following their emphatic 5-1 victory away to Coventry City on Monday afternoon.
The young Reds were ruthless in front of goal at the Alan Higgs Centre, and secured all three points with strikes from Trialist, Sam Fielding, Victor Adeboyejo and two from Amir Berkovits.
“I’m pleased with that today,” said Harsley after the game. “You know how it’s been lately with disrupted teams - we had some more trialists in today.
“We had a good chat after the Burnley game the other day and there was a bit more determination about it, which we talked about for finishing off the last two games and they certainly did that today. They took the game to Coventry right from the off.”
There appeared to be a renewed energy about Barnsley, who looked the exact opposite of a team that had failed to register a win in their previous 11 outings.
The young Reds were confident in possession, clinical in the final third and implemented a strategic pressing game to perfection as they ruffled the Sky Blues from the first whistle.
“With all the changes, it’s hard to keep the consistent messages but there were more lads today who have been with us for a while now, so that was one of the key things about winning the ball early,” continued Harsley.
“I think we really unsettled Coventry’s defence and their goalkeeper as well, so the more pressure we put them under the more they struggled so that was a key point of the game which the lads did really well.
“They converted more chances and looked more dangerous going forward, whereas in recent games that hasn’t been there. So we played well and scored some good goals in the end.”
Not only did Harsley’s side find the Midas touch against Coventry, they also showed great character after conceding ten minutes before the interval.
It was an excellent example of mental strength from the players, who could easily have crumbled in the second half but instead went onto score three more goals to rubber-stamp a magnificent performance.
“We spoke about that at half-time; we reiterated what had happened before,” said Harsley.
“I think the next goal in those situations is always key, so once it went 3-1 you could see that we’d ground them down by then, they started making more mistakes under pressure and it was only going to go one way.”
