Following our U18s’ 2-1 win against Scunthorpe United, Nicky Eaden admitted that although his side scraped victory, it wasn’t a convincing performance.
The young Reds had to come from behind following Tyrell Sellars-Fleming’s early opener but showed great determination to progress to the next round,
“It was poor,” he asserted. “We picked it up a bit in the second half, but we started poorly and there were too many problems to list. At half-time, we told the lads to liven up, start winning their battles, start winning more first contacts and start winning second balls. It’s basic football at times and that was a basic game.
“We didn’t move the ball quick enough. There was no urgency and a clear lack of movement. We didn’t win the first contacts, or second balls and we let them cause us too many problems. The game became a bit of a battle which was something we warned them about.”
Ultimately, the contest was decided by two moments of magic from Fabio Jalo, who embarked on two mesmerising runs – one which saw him round the goalkeeper and tap home, the other which resulted in him being upended in the box before converting from the spot.
That kind of form has seen him integrated into the first team set-up under Michael Duff, and Eaden was impressed with the 16-year-old’s impact.
“That’s what Fabio does,” he affirmed. “We let him go and do his own thing at times as we don’t want to squash his natural talent and instinctive play.
“If he gets decent service, he’ll make the most of it and he’s always got a goal in him.”
It was another good turnout at Oakwell on Thursday evening, with hundreds of supporters filling the West Stand lower to get behind our U18s.
Eaden believes these nights – playing at main stadiums and in front of large crowds – is beneficial for the development of academy players.
“It’s good for them,” said our U18s coach. “It gets them used to playing in front of numbers and it puts an extra edge on the game. It was great to see so many fans come down to support the lads.”
Match-winner Fabio Jalo was next to share his thoughts, with the striker admitting that although he was pleased with the result, it was a tough 90 minutes.
“It was hard work,” he admitted. “We had to dig in to get the comeback and achieve the win. At half-time, the manager told us we had to run harder, we did this in the second half and began to control the game.”
Despite being in the early stages of his career, Jalo is already a fan favourite at Barnsley, something he is delighted with.
“It was special to see the fans cheering me on,” he beamed. “It’s great to see the fans supporting me at such a young age. Another day, more goals. I’m happy.”
