Interim manager Martin Devaney has some fodder for thought over Sam Cole’s performance in Barnsley’s League One play-off semifinal first leg, but he will also need to focus heavily on the opposing end.
The goal that led to the switch-off came from a careless attempt by Barnsley to bring Devante Cole back into the pitch, which gave Paris Maghoma the opportunity to cross the ball and give Dion Charles space to finish.
A comfortable victory away from home appeared when Charles scored a penalty in the second half, which resulted from a mix-up between Jordan Williams and custodian Liam Roberts.
It was turned around by replacing Cosgrove with Cole, whose substitution was applauded by his own supporters, not for the first time.
If Cosgrove’s goal, which he scored expertly after a brilliant assist from fellow substitute Conor Grant, was a fine example of why Tuesday’s starting lineup should be changed, then Barnsley’s more direct style of play may have served as a guide as well.
The hosts felt Roberts was being illegally pressed back, so it was unfortunate that former Hull City winger Randell Williams scored directly from a stoppage-time corner, making the task much more difficult.
Speaking of Cosgrove, Devaney stated that he will once more lead the team while the hunt for Neill Collins’ permanent replacement as coach goes on. “He has the ability to alter the team’s dynamics. He demonstrated his abilities.
“You want to see Sam, who is a strength when he comes on, pull the centre backs, win headers, attempt to get hold of the ball, and bring guys into play when you make those substitutions.
“I was really pleased he got his goal and he’s certainly going to be in my mind.”
There was no getting away from the fact that Barnsley will also need to improve on defence in order to overcome a 3-1 lead in Lancashire.
Josh Earl, the centre defender, said, “It was poor defending from everyone involved.” We just cannot continue to concede goals in that manner.
“I’m not sure if Robbo committed a foul (for the third time), but it’s just another careless goal.
“We really need to start avoiding this aim; I’m not sure if it’s us turning off. All three of the goals were really bad.
“The striker made a nice play in the first, but now that we’re down to 10 men, we’re going to press them, and we ought to have stayed together as a unit.
“That’s just little mistakes that we make in a split second.”
However, everyone has hope thanks to last year’s play-offs, where Sheffield Wednesday overcame a 4-0 first-leg deficit to win their semi-final match.
“We can be encouraged by the whole performance apart from the three goals,” Earl stated. “We played some excellent football towards the end of the game and defended pretty effectively for the most of it. All we need to do is approach that place believing that we are still capable of giving a strong performance.
“At 2-1, we appear to be the next team to score, so we must approach it once more with the belief that we can score, keep going, and exert pressure on them.
“We’ll be going there with every intention to go and try and win the game, and it could be anything—a crazy goal that starts it, an incredible tackle, or anything else.
We were defeated by two goals. Why can’t we win by two goals against them?
“Really, the pressure is off of us now. Once you regain one, you never know what can occur.”
GET MORE NEWS HERE
Leave a Reply