Valerien Ismael: I knew the subs would win it for Barnsley FC

BARNSLEY head coach Valerien Ismael hailed the bench impact from his Reds replacements as his changes reaped a harvest in a 2-1 victory over visiting Blackburn Rovers at Oakwell.
Valerien Ismael.Valerien Ismael.
Valerien Ismael.

The game was meandering into a stalemate until Ismael made a number of proactive changes early in the second half and by the midway point of the half, the Reds head coach had brought on five replacements.

The introduction of Carlton Morris proved the key moment with the big striker following his goal in the outstanding victory at Brentford with his first home goal to put the Reds ahead 18 minutes from time.

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He helped create the killer second from Alex Mowatt on ninety minutes, with ex-Barnsley forward Adam Armstrong reducing the arrears in the third minute of stoppage time.

But it was another milestone night for Barnsley, who moved up to 42 points with their first home win in the league since Boxing Day.

Eager to share out the praise, Ismael, whose side visit Bristol City on Saturday, said: “It was not only Carlton, but Dee-Kay (Daryl Dike) as well.

“That is why we worked on the squad when we came and we knew we had to do something in the transfer window and you could see how important it was to do something as it was the game-changer to make something.

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“This win will give the guys more confidence as we can battle. Last week we had to press. Today we had to fight.”

On the importance of rotation and the club’s squad depth amid a congested schedule, he added: “We knew with the schedule and our squad depth that we have more possibilities to do something.

“We knew at half-time that the bench would win the game tonight. I told the guys we had to stay in the game and change some situations and make more pressure.

“We have a big impact from the five players who came on and scored in the right moment. Maybe after the 1-0, we had a lot of opportunities to finish the job and we were too sloppy with the last pass.

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“But finally Alex scored with an important goal in that moment. Then to concede a goal was completely unnecessary at that moment with two minutes to play and we have to be more clinical.

“We made a mistake, but it is not the big deal tonight because we won. We got the three points and keep moving in the table and we keep the momentum on our side now and it is important in that situation.”

On the Reds' position in the table as they passed the forty-point mark with 17 matches of the campaign still to go - last season, they only achieved that feat with six games remaining - Ismael continued: “We have 42 points, which is a great situation. But we need eight points to reach our first purpose and we need this as quick as possible and it is why the focus straightaway is on the game against Bristol to recover.

“Sunday was the first win in the Championship (in 2021) and this was the first win at home and it was important to keep the momentum going after the big win over Brentford and we did it.

“I told the guys to stay focused and keep the pressure high and do everything to recover until Saturday.”