Following our Carabao Cup triumph over Middlesbrough on Tuesday evening, goal scorer Patrick Schmidt says it is a result that will do wonders for the Reds’ morale.
His strike midway through the first half was added to by Jordan Williams as Barnsley set up a third round clash with Premier League giants Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next week.
“I think it was very important for us in terms of self-confidence because we had a good start against Nottingham Forest – also a Cup game – and last week was a tough game against Luton,” said Schmidt.
“So we wanted to move on and show everyone we are a good team and I think it was a good game, so good for our self-confidence.”
Schmidt was paired up front with fellow Austrian Dominik Frieser, who made his first start for the Reds since arriving from LASK Linz last month.
It has the makings of a promising partnership, but ‘Pipo’ says he is happy to lead the line with any of his teammates, insisting he has an excellent understanding with everyone.
“We’ve done well,” admitted the 22-year-old. “But we have five good strikers and I think everyone plays well and the partnership with everyone is good, so it doesn’t really matter who’s playing up front – everyone will do their best.”
Perhaps one of the standout performers at the Riverside Stadium was Luke Thomas, who provided both assists and ran the Boro defence ragged before being replaced on the hour mark.
Schmidt was full of praise for the dynamic forward, who has previous when it comes to laying it on a plate for the former Admira Wacker striker.
“He played very well,” continued Pipo. “Straight after the goal I said to him: ‘You like to assist me’ because for my goal at Millwall he did the same. I think he had a very good performance, as everyone in the team showed, and we want to take that spirit into the next games.”
You can watch Patrick’s full post-match interview on iFollow Barnsley.
