Barnsley head coach Neill Collins hopes his side learn from Port Vale scare

The Reds served up a festive treat for their travelling fans in the first half, racing into a 3-0 lead. Adam Phillips opened the scoring before loanee John McAtee bagged a brace to give Barnsley a comfortable lead.

However, the second half was anything but comfortable for Barnsley as Port Vale fought their way back into the game. Ethan Chislett drew level before Jack Shorrock set up a nervy finish in stoppage time.

Collins hailed his side’s first-half display as “outstanding” but hopes lessons are learned from the second half. He said: “In the first half, I thought we were outstanding.

“I thought the quality of our goals was excellent, I thought we looked a real threat, I thought we looked comfortable defensively. So everything that was probably good about the first half was negative about the second, particularly the last 20 minutes.

“I thought we started a bit slow coming out in the second half, then we had a little period where we looked like a threat again and we probably should have made it four when Herbie Kane goes through.

“Port Vale got their goal and we had to make certain changes – some we made decisions on and some were forced. And I thought once they got their tails up, we struggled to cope with it.

“But I can’t take anything away from a great three points. I think we tend to have games like this in the Christmas period, and hopefully we learn from it.”