Our U18s were held to a 1-1 draw by Crewe Alexandra in the Professional Development League on Tuesday afternoon.
After going a goal down in the first half, an instant reply from Josiah Dyer brought the game back level, but neither side could find that elusive winner to claim all three points.
Barnsley started brightly and looked to set the Railwaymen on the back foot straight away, with Dyer seeing an early header well saved by the Crewe stopper before his rebound was superbly blocked by a scrambling defender.
Despite decent attacking pressure from our U18s, the visitors opened the scoring midway through the half as Rhys Allport latched onto a long ball over the top and calmly chipped Trent Carter-Rogers as he rushed out of his goal.
Moments later, however, the Reds restored parity through Dyer, who met Mylan Benjamin’s cross with aplomb to plant a header into the corner before wheeling away in joyous celebration.
Just before the interval, Rafael Monteiro twice tested the visiting goalkeeper, while Dyer had an effort ruled out – allegedly for a foul on a Crewe defender – as our U18s ended the half strongly.
HALF-TIME: Barnsley 1-1 Crewe Alexandra
The game descended into a scrappy midfield battle throughout the second half, with neither side able to create many chances with the possession they had.
Barnsley were the first to have a shot on goal as Hayden Pickard stood over a free-kick 20 yards away from goal, but his attempt clattered into the wall.
Crewe’s box was bombarded by crosses as the clock ran down into the final minutes. Freshly introduced Ziggy Kozluk joined Benjamin with efforts to deliver the ball into dangerous areas in the box, but despite their best efforts the Railwaymen’s defence stayed strong and dealt with the attacks.
The result keeps the young Reds 15 points clear of Peterborough United at the summit with five games of the season remaining.
FULL-TIME: Barnsley 1-1 Crewe Alexandra
REDS XI: Carter-Rogers (GK), McKay, Benjamin, Joof, Murchison, Pickard, Bland (C), Makiessi, Dyer, Monteiro, Nzondo.
Subs: Ravenhill (GK), Doyle, Farrell, Yoganathan, Kozluk.
