Darrell Clarke was pleased with his Barnsley side’s performance in a 1-1 draw at lowly Cambridge United - and praised both goal-scorer Stephen Humphrys as well as Kelechi Nwakali.
The third-bottom hosts scored a deflected goal in the fourth minute then Humphrys levelled with a fantastic individual goal. The Reds created a series of second half chances but could not take any.
Clarke said: “The performance was good. We were missing a goal or two. They scored with a deflection. It’s not going anywhere near the goal. It takes a while to recover. We responded well with a great goal then were pretty dominant in the second half but couldn’t put the ball in the net.
“It’s frustrating and disappointing not to get three points.
“Phillo (Adam Phillips) had a couple of chances, Davis (Keillor-Dunn) had a free header off his shoulder. We were in the ascendancy and played a lot of the game in their half in the second half but it wasn’t to be.”
Striker Max Watters came off injured on seven minutes for midfielder Nwakali who impressed.
“Max had an injury. Kelechi did brilliant. We needed to change things and the boys adapted well. Sometimes earlier the season we would have been a little bit all over the shop after a change like that. But the boys worked patterns well and created opportunities.
“Kelechi is doing a lot better in training. His fitness levels are up. We said it would maybe take him until December or January. He’s come back into the team earlier than expected but that’s because of his work-rate and attitude. He’s picked a lot of good passes out which will give him confidence and certainly gives me confidence for future games.”
Humphrys’ goal saw him run from halfway. Clarke said: “It was a great driving run. To hit the ball with that much power after running 50 or 60 yards is a great finish.”
Jon Russell saw a goal ruled out for offside at 1-1. Clarke said: “They are telling me it’s very very tight. It could have been given either way. These things happen.”
Clarke was also surprised there were only two added minutes of injury-time despite, in his opinion, the home goalkeeper wasting time.
