Barnsley U23s midfielder Romal Palmer is pleased with the hard fought point his side claimed against Crystal Palace on Friday afternoon.
The young Reds had chances to win the game at Oakwell, but were often left frustrated by a stubborn visiting defence who moved nine points clear at the top of the Professional Development League South following Charlton Athletic’s 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
“Crystal Palace are a great team, they’re top of the South league,” said Palmer. "Obviously in a game like that, where you’re dominating so much, you want to win. The positive is the clean sheet and we’ll kick on from there next week.
“I was happy; it’s my first 90 minutes back so I’m obviously happy to be back. I can be better than that, but I’ll kick on from here - it was a good 90 minutes.”
With 53 league goals to their name this season, Crystal Palace are the top scorers in both PDL divisions. But a resolute defensive performance saw Paul Harsley’s side became only the fourth team to prevent the Eagles from scoring this campaign.
Barnsley’s youngsters showed maturity and confidence throughout the game, particularly when Richard Shaw’s side looked to turn the screw during a tough ten minute period after the interval.
“It’s always good to get a clean sheet, first and foremost,” continued Palmer. "The lads were great; they’ve shown confidence on the ball and we practiced that during the week. It’s good to get out there and show the people who were watching what we’re capable of.
“Taking it back to training again; we’ve been working on it a lot this week. Passing, moving and trusting each other on the ball, and it’s worked well to be fair.”
