Barnsley FC: Poya Asbaghi determined to fight on despite bear-certainty of relegation to League One
POYA ASBAGHI said defeat to Peterborough United was “tough to handle” as it left his Barnsley team on the brink of relegation from the Championship.
The Reds are 11 points adrift of fourth-bottom Reading with four games left to play, making it extremely unlikely that they will be in the second-tier come August.
Jack Marriott and Frankie Kent secured a vital 2-0 win for the visitors, who themselves remain perilously close to the drop.
“We knew we had to win this game to give ourselves the little chance we still had,” said the Barnsley head coach.
“The performance itself was better than the result and that’s what makes me disappointed.
“It’s really tough to handle. It’s mathematically still possible and we’ll still fight and still believe in it, but I understand how few percentages there are for us (to stay up). Even if there is no hope, we owe it to the fans to keep fighting.
“I think the fans understood that the performance itself in terms of creating chances was good enough, but we needed to win so of course they were really frustrated.
“I’m not going to sit here right now and talk about my future. Of course, I’m going to fight like everybody else. It’s not in my nature to give anything up.”
Marriott put the visitors ahead in the 25th minute with a clinical finish into the roof of the net after receiving a through ball from Sammie Szmodics and Kent made the points safe in the 75th minute when he headed home a Harrison Burrows corner.
Peterborough manager Grant McCann hailed a strong defensive display from his side
“I’m really pleased with our lads,” he said. “We dug in, we stayed strong and defended quite a lot of balls in our box.
“We weren’t great in terms of on the ball, but I thought defensively we were strong when we had to be.
“I was pleased for the goalkeeper and the back five. It’s really pleasing to come away with a clean sheet and three points.”
Barnsley: Walton, Brittain, Andersen, Kitching, Vita (Woodrow 46), Palmer (Wolfe 75), Gomes, Styles (Adeboyejo 80), Bassi, Quina, Morris. Unused substitutes: Iseka, Jinadu, Moon, Hondermarck.
Peterborough United: Cornell, Knight, Edwards, Kent, Ward (Poku 46), Jack Taylor, Fuchs, Burrows, Szmodics, Clarke-Harris (Randall 80), Marriott (Jade-Jones 65). Unused substitutes: Beevers, Brown, Mumba, Blackmore.
Referee: Darren Bond (Lancashire).