Ben Williams believes Barnsley can take confidence from the 0-0 draw with high-flying Luton Town on Tuesday afternoon.
The young left-back, whose magnificent performance earned him a place in the EFL Team of the Week, was instrumental as the Reds left Kenilworth Road with a hard-fought point and earned an eleventh clean sheet of the campaign.
“We can take a lot of credit from the result, especially coming and getting a point from a team that has gone unbeaten since we beat them earlier on in the season,” said Williams. “I think the lads grafted really well and put a shift in, so we’ll take a point and move onto Saturday.
“We had chances that we could have put away – there were a few times when the ball was pinballing around on the edge of the box and we could have got shots off. But I think we’ll go away happy with a point.”
Crucial to Barnsley’s enviable defensive record has been the centre-back pairing of Liam Lindsay and Ethan Pinnock, who have developed a fantastic on-field relationship this season.
Williams feels that their influence in the draw with Luton helped him settle in the game, as well as the faith shown in him by the Reds’ coaching staff.
“They’ve been real rocks at the back this season and they’re only young as well, so it’s been good to have them communicating with me and pushing me through the game,” continued the 19-year-old.
“Just to be getting game time at a young age, I’m thankful for the Gaffer for having faith in me and I’m just looking to kick on.”
Results over the festive period have seen Barnsley climb back into the play-off spots following a brief spell outside the top six.
Daniel Stendel’s side are only six points behind the Hatters with a game in hand, and will be looking to build momentum as the season reaches boiling point.
“We’re really happy with the results we’ve picked up,” insisted Williams. “We’ll use all of those points to kick on because there’s only one thing on our mind this season and that’s promotion. Anything can happen over the course of the season and there’s still plenty of games to go, so we’ll still be pushing for the top two.
“There’s teams that are doing well and teams that dip out of form, but we just treat every game the same. We know it’s possible to beat every team in the league, so we just treat every game as it comes and try to win.”
You can watch Ben’s full post-match interview on iFollow Barnsley.