Barnsley U23s travel to Burnley on Monday afternoon looking to make it back-to-back wins in the Professional Development League.
The young Reds secured an emphatic 5-2 victory over Birmingham City in their last outing, with Elliot Simoes taking his goal tally to eight for the season with strikes in either half.
Clarke Oduor also netted two, while Mamadou Thiam was on target as our U23s ran riot at the Oakwell Training Ground.
That result saw Barnsley climb to sixth in the table, but they will face a stern test against a Clarets side who are the only unbeaten team in the league so far this campaign.
Burnley have won three and drawn six, and currently sit second – three points above the Reds – and Keziah Martin is eager to secure an important win.
“I’m quite looking forward to it, to be honest,” said the midfielder. “I went on trial there for a couple of days, obviously they didn’t take me so I feel like I’ve got a bit of a point to prove.
“I want to go there and play my best, and hopefully show them what they could have had. I only trained once and played one game. They like to use their pace and power to win second balls, so it will be a tough day if we don’t win our headers and compete.”
Confidence is high within the camp following last week’s triumph over the Blues, which brought to an end a run of two consecutive defeats.
Martin believes it was an encouraging performance from the young Reds and wants his side to push on against Burnley.
“That was a very important result – the 5-2 score line is great and quite a few of the first team lads played, but it was still a good result against a strong Birmingham team so confidence should be high right now,” continued the 20-year-old.
“We had a lot of chances and missed quite a few of them, so it could have been seven or eight, to be honest, and we let two soft goals in at the end.”
Having joined Barnsley at the start of this season following a successful trial period, Martin has shown his qualities with a number of fine displays at the heart of midfield.
However, the youngster is eager to notch his first goal for the Reds after coming close on several occasions so far this term.
“I’m starting to settle in a bit better now, my confidence is coming along and I want to get my first goal and start making an impact,” insisted Martin. “I came close against Crystal Palace, but I think I need to start getting more shots off now and getting in the box.”
You can find out how our U23s fare against Burnley by attending the game at the Tameside Stadium, home to Curzon Ashton, on Monday afternoon. Kick-off at 2pm.
Alternatively, you can follow updates on our official Academy Twitter account: @AcademyBFC.
Tameside Stadium
Richmond Street
Ashton-under-Lyne
Greater Manchester
OL7 9HG
