Barnsley 1 Brentford 3: Defeat ‘hard to accept’ as long wait for a win goes on

An Ollie Watkins hat-trick - all of which were headers - overturned Cauley Woodrow’s stunning opener to leave the Reds third from bottom in the Championship.

“It’s hard to accept it after the performance today,” said Barnsley head coach, Daniel Stendel.

“We deserved more and we hoped that we could keep the three points today.

“We started well and were one-nil up, we got what we expected in the first 10 or 15 minutes.

“In the first-half, we didn’t play bad but after 20 or 25 minutes Brentford played better and found an easier way to break our press.”Cauley Woodrow’s early strike was a beautifully placed finish into the top corner; Barnsley’s only goal to come in September - a month which yielded no points for Daniel Stendel’s side.

“We are all disappointed,” added Stendel. “We can only work so hard and we need to accept that this is a different league with different quality.“We need to be realistic with our quality and our team. We work hard for good results but we’re not getting them.

“The good things is we have a game again on Wednesday (against Derby) and a new chance (to get three points.”Stendel also confirmed midfielder Kenny Dougall is closing in on a return to action following his broken leg.

“He played in the Under-23s on Friday, but after seven and a half months it’s a long way to come back into the team,” added the Barnsley boss.

Reds: Collins, J. Williams, Andersen, Brown, Woodrow, Chaplin (Schmidt 63), Cavare (Thiam 74), Thomas (Wilks 63), Sibbick, Halme, Mowatt (c). Subs: Walton, Green, Styles, Pinillos.

Brentford: Raya, Henry, Norgaard, Canos (Pinnock 79), Jensen (Dasilva 85), Benrahma, Watkins (Karelis 88), Mokotjo, Jansson, Dalsgaard, Jeanvier. Subs: Daniels, Mbeumo, Clarke, Zamburek.

Referee: David Webb

Attendance: 12,188 (366 away)