Barnsley signed off for pre-season with an entertaining 4-3 home win over Championship Derby County on Wednesday evening.
Conor Hourihane, playing back at Oakwell for the first time since his return to the Reds, opened the scoring with a long-range goal against the side he captained to promotion from League One earlier this year.
Derby levelled before the break and took the lead early in the second half. Adam Phillips’ leveller was cancelled out as Derby made it 3-2 then substitutes Kyran Lofthouse and Aiden Marsh won it for the Reds.
Darrell Clarke, who was in the home dugout for the first time, picked arguably his strongest side after making several changes for Friday’s game with Real Mallorca.
Hourihane, against his former club, anchored midfield behind Luca Connell and Adam Phillips while Callum Styles and Corey O’Keeffe were the wing-backs with Max Watters and Sam Cosgrove up front.
Cosgrove should have opened the scoring but fired wide of an open goal after Derby goalkeeper Josh Vickers missed an excellent Phillips cross from the right.
But, seconds later, Hourihane fired into the bottom right corner from about 25 yards out.
The visitors should have levelled when Josh Earl miscontrolled a long ball and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was through on the right of the box but his attempted pass was cut out by the sliding Marc Roberts.
Phillips headed wide from a right-wing corner by Connell.
Derby levelled on 33 minutes when, after Jackson Smith denied Jerry Yates from point blank range following a cross from the right, Mendez-Laing found the bottom left corner from just inside the box.
Earl then galloped out of defence on a brilliant run and played the ball forward to Watters on the left of the box who shot past the goalkeeper but well wide from a difficult angle.
Connell blazed over just inside the box early in the second half after a free-kick was played back to him.
Half-time substitute Fabio Jalo then cut between two defenders while coming in from the right wing but his shot towards the bottom right corner was touched behind by the goalkeeper.
Derby took the lead when Mendez-Laing ran onto an impressive pass by Jerry Yates and beat half-time substitute Ben Killip easily.
Both teams then made several changes at the hour-mark. Aiden Marsh won the ball just outside the Derby box then Phillips crossed from the right by Jon Russell somehow turned the ball wide from a few yards out.
The equaliser saw Barnsley work the ball nicely down the left side of the box then Matthew Craig crossed from near the byline and Phillips bundled it over the line.
But the visitors replied within minutes when Killip charged out of his penalty area but was beaten to the ball by Tom Barkhuizen who crossed from the left for James Collins to head into the empty net.
Another goal arrived soon after when substitute Kyran Lofthouse headed in from a tight angle on the left after meeting a fine cross from Craig who registered his second assist of the night.
It was almost 4-3 to the visitors but a Derby substitute poked wide of the bottom left corner.
Jalo then had to come off with what looked like an arm injured after being tackled following a good run down the right.
The winner arrived in injury-time as Marsh headed a Lofthouse left-wing cross into the bottom right corner.
Barnsley (3-5-2): Smith (Killip HT); de Gevigney (McCarthy 72mins) Roberts (Łopata 72), Earl; O’Keeffe (Cotter 60), Connell (Craig 60), Hourihane (Russell 60), Phillips, Styles (Lofthouse 60); Watters (Marsh), Cosgrove (Jalo HT).
