MICHAEL DUFF revealed that he felt obliged to lift his Barnsley players after a late concession in their otherwise flawless win over Accrington - as the Reds ended a run of three successive defeats in impressive style.

With the Oakwell outfit requiring a response to re-affirm their play-off credentials in League One, Duff's side did just that, by virtue of a three-goal blast inside a rampant opening 20 minutes.

It ended the game as a competitive contest, with lowly Accrington netting a penalty from the spot with the last kick of the game.

Head coach Duff, whose sixth-placed side visit Exeter City on Tuesday, said: "I walked in the dressing room afterwards and it felt a little bit flat and the ground felt a little bit flat after 90 minutes.

"I thought it was a really good performance and I said to the group that, as they are probably such a young group that have probably not been beaten enough.

"When you get to 31 or 32, you realise how hard it is to win a game of football. Enjoy it. It was a pleasing day.

"We are in the results business, but we have to scratch a bit deeper than that.

"With the performance last week at Charlton, I firmly believe we played exactly the same game, we'd win it seven or eight times (out of ten).

"We'd been threatening this for a while. It was a good team performance and we shouldn't do it down.

"Don't do wins down or take them for granted. There was an intensity and some of the goals were really good."

A brilliant acrobatic opener from James Norwood got the ball rolling for the Reds, with the striker's overall performance fully justifying Duff's decision to start him ahead of top-scorer Devante Cole.

It was also a noteworthy day for Jack Aitchison, who found the net for the first time in a competitive game at Oakwell.

On Norwood, 32, who scored his sixth goal of the campaign in scintillating fashion, Duff commented: “That is probably the best we have seen him.

"The most pleasing thing from my point of view is that the ball stuck.

"It gave us a platform to get up the pitch and create better chances.

“I don’t think it’s an accident that the ball stuck up front and then the two centre-forwards scored two goals.

“He trained really well in the week and that’s why he got the nod. I was really pleased.”

Michael Duff on why Barnsley FC should not feel 'flat' after victory over Accrington