Barnsley boss Michael Duff hails 'cherry on the top' of late winner at Fleetwood Town

Jack Aitchison struck the only goal of the game in stoppage time, just minutes after coming off the bench, with a fine glancing header from fellow substitute Ziyad Larkeche’s cross.

And the victory left his manager, who admitted he would have been happy to take a point home as the clock was ticking down, delighted.

“We had a few moments, but if I’m brutally honest when we got to about 87 minutes I’d have taken a 0-0 away from home,” said Duff. “But the players kept pushing and that’s what we wanted.

“Last-minute winners always feel good but if it had been 0-0 it would have been another game unbeaten, another clean sheet. The cherry on the top was the last-minute winner.

“I thought it was a deserved win, we were the better team.

“In the first 20 minutes we were excellent but we couldn’t score the goal and you’re never going to dominate a game for 90 minutes.

“There was a little bit of concern in the second half that the game had gone a bit flat, but that’s part of our learning.

“They went a little bit more direct and they are a tough nut to crack. We talked about how we had to keep going to the end.

“I’d be loathe to single any of them out. You want people coming in and putting their hand up, no one sulked when they were taken off the pitch and Jack has come on and got the winner for us, which is great.

“The pleasing thing for me was that at half-time there were a few lads digging each other out, which apparently is new for the group. I was told by members of staff that they had not seen that before, so that they’re willing to dig each other out, if it’s not personal, is to try and be better.

“I thought there was some really good football played today, we’ve kept a clean sheet and got an away win at a tough place.”

While Barnsley left the north west coast overjoyed, Cod Army boss Scott Brown conceded he was distraught at losing to a goal that hit the net just as the 90 minutes had expired.

Adding to the former Celtic man’s frustration was a perceived foul on Joe Garner, missed by referee Samuel Barrott, that led to Barnsley breaking away to score.

“Losing to a last-minute goal is always hard,” he said. “We managed the second half very well, we tried to play on the counter with a little bit of pace as well, we brought Joe Garner on and we started to go a little bit more direct than we’re used to.

“It’s horrible losing to a last-minute goal, I could never say anything about their effort because they always give 100 per cent.”

Fleetwood Town: Lynch, Rooney, Nsiala, Devlin, Andrew, Warrington, Vela, Macadam (Hayes 90), Batty (Lane 77), Morton (Mendes Gomes 77), Muskwe (Joe Garner 70). Unused substitutes: Stolarczyk, Johnston, Baker.Barnsley: Collins, Cundy, Andersen, Kitching, Williams, J Benson, Kane (Phillips 69), Cadden (Larkeche 81), Thomas (Martin 69), Cole (Aitchison 86), Norwood. Unused substitutes: Walton, Edwards, Connell. Referee: Sam Barrott (West Yorkshire).