Academy starlet Fabio Jalo reflected on incredible season with our U18s as they secured a Professional Development League play-off final win on penalties over Charlton Athletic.
A first half penalty from Theo Chapman opened the scoring in the game, before Charlton equalised shortly after half-time. The visitors looked to have won the contest in extra-time, but Matty Doyle’s dramatic late header forced a shootout, with Rogan Ravenhill proving to be the hero as he saved the decisive kick.
“I’m speechless right now,” began Jalo. “We’ve worked so hard all season, all the way since pre-season, so I don’t think anyone deserved it more than us. All I can say is we deserved to win the league on merit, and we’ve completed our target to win the play-offs as well.
“We believe until the last minute that we can win any game, which you’ve seen today, we never stopped looking for the goal to give us the win. We’ve worked hard all season and have really had to dig in at times. We’re always confident we can score, even in difficult circumstances.”
With an impressive goalscoring record alongside a nomination for the EFL League One Apprentice of the Season Award, Fabio quickly made a name for himself in Barnsley.
Breaking into the first team and scoring his first professional goals, Jalo was quick to share how happy he was with the term he’s had.
“I’m so proud of the team and myself,” he asserted. “Personally, I’ve achieved and progressed so much this year and I hope it can carry on to the next season.
“I hope as a club we can achieve the same things as we did this season next year, or even better! In terms of players going to the first team and up to the U21s, we’re hopeful we can all get our chances next year.”
