Barnsley FC goalkeeper and Middlesbrough loanee Liam Roberts will be 'huge' for League One club in 2023-24 insists Reds head coach Neill Collins

It was a bittersweet night for the Middlesbrough loanee and the Reds on Tuesday with the hosts relinquishing a hard-fought 1-0 advantage in the final quarter against a relentless Peterborough United side who went onto triumph 3-1 at Oakwell.

Collins proved the main bulwark to free-flowing Posh scoring earlier, making some excellent saves, including an outstanding one to somehow keep out Jonson Clarke-Harris's header.

The striker did have the last laugh by netting soon after when Roberts coughed up possession in the lead-up to the visitors second goal.

But the overall performance of the custodian, who has joined the Reds on a second-long loan and is effectively playing for a longer-term deal somewhere with his contract at Boro expiring next summer and unlikely to be renewed, left a favourable impression upon Collins.

The Reds chief whose side welcome Oxford United on Saturday, said: "Liam has been excellent on and off the field. I thought one save was just phenomenal from the header.

"Both keepers made top saves, although I think Liam will be disappointed with the second goal as I thought it was a poor decision to play out (from the back).

"But that is part of it with these guys in terms of learning from it. He is going to be huge for us."

Collins confirmed that Barnsley are 'getting to the bottom' of the illness which is keeping key midfielder Luca Connell out of first-team contention - but admits progress is slow.

On his progress, Collins added: "Very, very slowly. (But) We are getting to the bottom of his illness now. He is again a person who we look at and are slightly missing.”