Head Coach Daniel Stendel says he was ‘very proud!’ of his team following the Reds impressive 1-0 victory over promotion favourites Fulham at Oakwell on Saturday.
The German was particularly pleased with the team performance out on the pitch and believes Barnsley deserved all three points, as they kicked off the new Sky Bet Championship campaign in superb style.
Stendel brought in 10 new additions to the squad over the summer and one of those signings, Luke Thomas, had a debut to remember, as his goal proved to be the decisive moment in the 13th minute.
Speaking after the game, Stendel was full of praise for his team.
“We are very happy about the result, but it was all about the performance today. We wanted to play with more conviction and that’s what we did,” said the Reds’ Head Coach.
“We know Fulham have a very strong squad and they are a good team, but we also knew that we had a chance to win the game. I think for the most part, we played very well. In the second half, they had some phases where they played better, but I thought we deserved the win today.”
It could have been an even more remarkable scoreline for the Reds, as both Mike Bähre and Thomas again had chances to put the game to bed, but it the extra goal wasn’t needed in the end, as a resilient Barnsley defence did well to deny a usually ruthless Fulham attack.
The Reds showed fantastic team spirit and character to keep the Cottager’s at bay, our Head Coach was delighted to keep a clean sheet on the opening day of the season.
“We could have won by more,” continued Stendel. “Mike Bähre had a good chance before half-time and Luke [Thomas] also had a big opportunity in second half. However, 1-0 is still a good result, we got the three points and we kept a clean sheet. We carried on playing like we did last season, so I’m very happy with the performance.
“We knew that it was going to be a difficult game, but it was one I knew we could win. We believed in ourselves against one of the biggest teams in the league. I had faith in my players from what I’ve seen in pre-season and I hope we can continue to show the same, I’m very proud of them!”
Ahead of the game, Stendel also decided that German midfielder Mike Bähre would captain the team against the Cottagers.
“Mike proved in the last few weeks that he’s got more responsibility in our squad,” asserted Stendel. “He’s only been here for a year, but he’s an experienced player and one of our key players.”
You can watch Daniel’s full post-match press conference on iFollow Barnsley.
