Barnsley: Kenny Dougall closing in on Reds return

Plenty of initial promise was on show after Cauley Woodrow’s stunning curler inside 60 seconds gave the Tykes the lead.

But the performance was typical of an inexperienced side lacking leadership as they ran out of ideas and, eventually, time.

Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel is hopeful his most senior outfield player, Kenny Dougall, can return to action for the visit of Derby County on Wednesday night.

Stendel is mindful that the 26-year-old - the club’s oldest outfield player - must not be rushed back, however desperate they are for a more experienced head.

“For Kenny, it’s the first big injury in his career,” Stendel told The Star after his side’s 3-1 defeat against the Bees.

“We have to have patience for him to come back. I know he wants to play and his experience and quality could help us in situations like today when we need more control and confidence in the not-so-easy situations.

“After 46 minutes, we needed to say, 'OK, it’s not easy, but we have 44 minutes to change the result’.”

Whilst the Reds’ youthful exuberance, at times, suited their attack-minded play, their naivety and inexperience has cost them in both boxes; leaving them with one win in nine.

“In that situation you could see it wasn’t easy for our players,” added Stendel. “You can see the same a lot of times on the pitch.

“This is hard but it’s what we see and we can only keep wanting to win games and train well. We will try to keep the confidence and maybe on Wednesday we will change it.”