Job isn't done yet, goal hero Winnall warns promotion-chasing Barnsley

Goal hero Sam Winnall insists that the promotion job is not done yet, despite Barnsley holding a commanding advantage over Walsall in their League One play-off semi-final.
Sam Winnall celebrates his second goal with Adam Hammill.Sam Winnall celebrates his second goal with Adam Hammill.
Sam Winnall celebrates his second goal with Adam Hammill.

The Reds hotshot hit the target twice during Saturday’s thrilling 3-0 victory over the Saddlers at Oakwell, putting them in pole position for a place in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

But Winnall and his peers are remaining focussed on the task in hand ahead of the return leg at the Banks’s Stadium on Thursday.

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“If you’re in the play-offs in the first leg, to win 3-0 you’d snap someone’s hands off,” said Winnall, who has bagged 24 goals this season.

“But it’s not about getting ahead of ourselves, we know we’ve still got another 90 minutes to play. So we’ve got to put that to the back of our mind now and we’ve got to focus on the game on Thursday.

“We needed to give ourselves a good head start in the first leg, we’ve done that, and we can be really proud of the performance and the result.

“However the focus still has to be on Thursday and going and doing the job properly and finishing it off.”

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Saturday’s super showing against the stunned Saddlers enhanced the Reds’ reputation as big-game players.

And Winnall was delighted that he and his team-mates were once again able to take control of the occasion and use it to fuel a fantastic performance.

He said: “That’s probably the best we’ve played at home this season, and to do it in such a big game in front of the Sky cameras when the pressure is on is testament to us as a group.

“Every time we’ve had a big game this season we seem to have stepped up and we’ve done it again, and as a dressing room we couldn’t be happier.”

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Over 16,000 supporters turned out at Oakwell on Saturday to create a cauldron of noise that added an extra edge to an already massive 90 minutes of football.

And Winnall, who has been at Barnsley since 2014, says that’s the best he’s heard during his time at the club.

“That’s the loudest it’s been since I’ve been here,” he added. “The atmosphere was fantastic and they got right behind us from the first minute to the last.

“We’re just happy we can repay them with results and performances like that, it would be hard to take any negatives from that game as a fan.”

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Barnsley have signed Barnet captain Andy Yiadom on a two-year deal from the League Two side. Yiadom, 24, joins The Tykes on a free transfer having made 177 appearances for the Bees since joining in 2012.

The versatile full-back scored seven goals in 43 appearances last season as Barnet finished 15th in the league.

“Andy is an athletic and exciting player who has his best years ahead of him,” said Paul Heckingbottom.