Following our 2-0 defeat at home to Swansea City on Wednesday evening, Jordan Williams believes there were encouraging signs from the Reds despite the eventual result.
There was a solidity about Barnsley for large periods of the game as we frustrated our visitors, who eventually made the breakthrough after the interval through former Celtic midfielder Oliver Ntcham, before Jamie Paterson sealed all three points.
“I thought we were in the game until the 70th minute when they scored,” discussed Williams. “I thought we were very compact and hard to beat and made them play down the sides but, after that, I didn’t really think it was a contest; we changed shape and tried to go more attacking but didn’t really get to touch the ball or win the ball, and they punished us.”
We limited the Swans to very few chances throughout the contest, but our defensive structure unfortunately meant that opportunities at the other end were also at a premium.
However, it is still early days in the Poya Asbaghi era here at Oakwell, and the initial indications suggest that there are foundations to build on and be successful once our new Head Coach has had time to implement his philosophy.
“That was the game plan – be hard to beat; let them have the ball,” continued Williams. “They didn’t really hurt us at all for the first hour. We had a chance, maybe, the cross from Devante to Cauley, who on another day scores and it’s a different game.
“We’ve got a lot of positives to take into Saturday and the next few weeks. The gaffer has only been here for two days, really, so it’s hard to change the world. But I think you can see the difference he’s made already.
“He’s been very positive and telling us all to believe in ourselves more and been a lot more confident, and I think there’s been an uplift in the changing room. We’re very positive; we’ve lost 2-0 but, in the first hour, we were in the game, keeping them away from the goal and being hard to beat.”
You can watch Jordan’s post-match reaction on iFollow Barnsley.
