Barnsley U23s Head Coach Martin Devaney insists there were plenty of positives in the performance despite the Reds XIs 4-2 defeat against Athersley Rec on Friday evening.
Tai Reece-Chisholm and Amir Berkovits equalised twice for Barnsley in the first half, before the hosts claimed victory with two late goals.
“In terms of how we played and how the goals came about, I think they were good,” said Devaney.“We got down the lines, created one v ones and got balls into the box. Tai finished the first one really well and Cameron [Simpson] got down the line and put in a good cross, then Amir drove into the box for the second one and finished really well.
“That’s what we want and I’m sure over the next few weeks we’ll see more of that; us dominating out wide, getting crosses into the box and scoring more goals. It’s frustrating because we’ve lost; I don’t want to lose. But, it’s a learning process for these boys – they’ve got to learn how we’re going to play moving forward.”
It was a very young Reds XI side in action at local side Athersley, with nine trialists in the squad at Sheerien Park.
Devaney is looking to bolster his numbers for the upcoming Professional Development League campaign, but admits it is difficult to build momentum with so many new faces in his side.
“In terms of the lads that have signed there were only six or seven playing – there were nine trialists in the squad,” continued the U23s coach. “It’s always difficult trying to implement the new style of play. I think the lads that have signed with us did it well at times, but it’s building blocks; it takes time.
“There was some good stuff in terms of the way we played, but they have to learn how to defend. When you play against teams like this you can’t give away silly free-kicks and corners because they want to put the ball into the box for the big lads, and in the end, they bullied us for the goals so we’re disappointed with that.
“But, in terms of moving forward, we’ll be back on the training ground trying to implement that, improve and go again on Tuesday against Bradford.”
