Boss Michael Duff over the moon with Barnsley stars after win at Sheffield Wednesday

Posted Sunday, September 04, 2022 by PA

Barnsley manager Michael Duff hailed his side’s display in their 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday as a ‘complete away performance’.

Goals from Devante Cole and James Norwood gave Barnsley victory over their South Yorkshire neighbours.

Lee Gregory spurned Wednesday’s best chances, failing to score from good positions.

Duff said: “I thought we were very good and I thought we were worthy of the win. Coming here and keeping a clean sheet is no mean feat, especially when you look at the players they were bringing on.

“Two centre-forwards scored two goals and one of them has come from a set-play so, without getting too carried away, it was a complete away performance.

“We were good out of possession and we used the ball well. In transitions, I thought we were really good.

“They are expansive, so we had to keep our discipline and we had to keep our shape and not panic if they do have moments with the ball.

“I wouldn’t say I wasn’t worried because I’m always worried, but we kept them at arm’s length.

“The players have been working hard and we’ve said all along that it’s not going to happen overnight. We’ve not arrived because we’ve had a good performance today.

“We know where we’re at and we know where we are in the process.”

Wednesday boss Darren Moore had no complaints about the result, admitting it was a below-par performance from his side.

He said: “I’m still scratching my head, really. It just wasn’t right today, right the way through.

“Usually, our forte has been excellent with the ball. I just thought we were loose and just couldn’t get going.

“They got the goal in the first half. We looked at the team and he’d put an extra defender in, so he went solid with five across the back. Off the ball, it was a 5-4-1 so it was really difficult to break down and they got a goal so we knew it would be difficult.

“I thought the turning point was when we had two good chances at 1-0. If we convert one of those chances, I think there’s still enough momentum in the game to probably give us a lift to kick on, but we didn’t capitalise on those chances.

“Then obviously we got a sucker punch from the set-play. Somebody got free so somebody didn’t do their job.

“When I look back at the game, we weren’t good enough, but I take nothing away from Michael Duff and his team. We credit Barnsley for the win but for us today we weren’t quite where we needed to be.”