Barnsley U23s continue their pre-season preparations with a trip to face Sunderland U23s on Tuesday afternoon.
The young Reds ran out 4-3 winners against Hemsworth Miners Welfare on Friday evening, and will be looking to build on that impressive attacking display against the Black Cats.
Along with Manchester United, Elliott Dickman’s side were relegated from the Premier League 2 Division One last season, scoring just 19 goals in 22 outings.
Home form in particular let Sunderland down, with seven defeats and no clean sheets on their own turf last campaign – including a 5-0 thumping at the hands of Chelsea.
The Black Cats have hit their stride this summer, winning three of their four friendlies and finding the net 14 times in the process. Connor Shields, signed from Scottish League Two outfit Albion Rovers, bagged a hat-trick in the Mackems’ last game – a 5-0 victory over four-time FA Vase winners Whitley Bay.
There were four different scorers for Martin Devaney’s youngsters on Friday, with Jordan Barnett, Sam Fielding, Louis Walsh and Trialist all helping themselves to a goal.
Tai-Reece Chisholm and Amir Berkovits were also on target a week earlier as a Reds XI side were beaten 4-2 by Athersley Rec, so confidence is clearly flowing through this young Barnsley side.
Kick-off at the Academy of Light is at 1pm, and you can follow updates of how the Reds get on via the Academy’s official Twitter account: @AcademyBFC.
