A much-changed Barnsley secured a 2-0 victory over Grimsby Town in our opening EFL Trophy group stage fixture.
Owen Dodgson’s neat finish and Aiden Marsh’s late tap-in were enough for a routine three points at Oakwell on Tuesday evening.
In truth, there wasn’t a great deal of attacking threat from either side for large parts of the first half, with Abo Eisa’s low curling strike perhaps the closest effort in the early exchanges.
Debutant, Sam Cosgrove also powered a header wide from inside the box as Barnsley looked to gain a foothold in the contest.
The breakthrough came shortly after as Maël de Gevigney’s throw-in was flicked on by Cosgrove into the path of Dodgson, who gleefully swept home on his first appearance having arrived on loan from Burnley on deadline day.
Full of confidence from that goal, we pushed forward in search of a second, and Max Watters stung the hands of Harvey Cartwright before Cosgrove spurned a gilt-edged opportunity when through one-on-one.
HALF-TIME: Barnsley 1-0 Grimsby Town
Chances were few and far between after the interval, too, as both teams struggled to string together meaningful passages of play.
The best attempt was substitute Marsh’s long-range piledriver, that sat up nicely for the forward to hit from 30-yards, but Cartwright was equal to the strike and smothered it at the second attempt.
With time ticking away, the ball was worked well down the right flank, with Danny Benson finding his namesake, Josh, who whipped in a delightful cross for Marsh to convert from inside the six-yard box.
It sealed a comfortable win for the Reds, who climbed above Manchester City EDS into top spot in Group F.
FULL-TIME: Barnsley 2-0 Grimsby Town
REDS XI: Killip (GK), Lofthouse (D Benson, 86), de Gevigney (James, 67), McCarthy (C), McCart, Dodgson, Nejman, Chapman (Yoganathan, 67), J Benson, Cosgrove (Marsh, 58), Watters.
Not used: Flavell (GK), Bland, Nzondo.
GRIMSBY XI: Cartwright (GK), Efete, Glennon (Gardner, 66), Waterfall (C), Eisa (Bramwell, 46), Pyke, Andrews, Mullarkey (Gnahoua, 46), Hunt, Khouri, Maher (Rodgers, 46).
Not used: Eastwood (GK), Amos, Gardner, Conteh.
