Barnsley must take heart from performance

Barnsley manager Danny Wilson has told his players they should be proud of their Hillsborough performance.
Emmanuel Frimpong, dismissed on his Barnsley debutEmmanuel Frimpong, dismissed on his Barnsley debut
Emmanuel Frimpong, dismissed on his Barnsley debut

The Reds finished the derby with just nine men – and played with 10 for over an hour – following red cards to midfield duo Emmanuel Frimpong and Jacob Mellis.

It took a ‘97th’ minute strike from Wednesday’s Chris Maguire to break the deadlock and Barnsley’s hearts and pinch all three points for the hosts.

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Victory took the Owls six points clear of the Championship relegation zone – when Stuart Gray took over from Dave Jones they were six points adrift – and leaves Barnsley firmly in the mire.

The Reds are five points behind fourth-bottom Millwall with a game in hand.

Yet Wilson believes their fighting spirit at Hillsborough will serve them well in the coming months as Barnsley look to avoid relegation to League One.

“You can’t ask any more from the players, they have given everything,” stressed Wilson.

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“You don’t often see, in a derby game defeat, your own fans staying behind after the game and giving you a standing ovation.

“Yes, we can do better with technical stuff, but when you play with your heart on your sleeve, as they have done, that’s all you ask from players.

“The best chances came to us; we had three great chances in the first half.

“We have to turn this into a positive. We can’t let a game like that go unnoticed, from our perspective, in our preparation for our next games.

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“They were fantastic. They are in the dressing rooms, with their heads down. I have told them ‘get your heads up, you should feel proud (of their display at Hillsborough’.

“I could never criticise that performance but the bottom line is we lost. That’s a tough one to take.”

Barnsley’s next game sees Ipswich Town visit Oakwell, on Saturday, and Wilson is looking for a positive response.

“We will channel the frustrations of Saturday into a positive action for the next game,” he said.

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“We’ve been harshly treated in my opinion so need to turn that around and go into the next match all guns blazing and try and get three points at home.”

Owls’ head coach Stuart Gray had some sympathy with Barnsley.

“It’s a great feeling when it happens for you, but horrible when it goes against you,” said Gray.