Darrell Clarke praised his Barnsley side’s character after they responded to a 4-0 home loss against Leyton Orient with a comeback win at Bolton Wanderers on Boxing Day.

The Reds were the better side throughout the game and won it through goals on 80 minutes by Davis Keillor-Dunn and 88 from Adam Phillips.

Head coach Clarke said: “I was happy with a lot of aspects – none more so than the character. We went a goal down after we put in a really poor performance in the last game.

“I felt at half-time the boys were in a decent place then in the second half we were right on the front foot and deserved to win.

“We had a couple of good chances which we didn’t capitalise on. I always thought if we got one, we might win. I was really pleased with the boys not settling with the point and going on to try and win. It’s a good afternoon.”

Phillips assisted Keillor-Dunn then won it with a goal from a smart set piece routine.

Clarke said: “It (the equaliser) is a great goal and finish. Phillo is a top player and got a great goal.

“It was a great ball by Kelechi (Nwakali), great run by Corey (O’Keeffe) and finish by Phillo.”

Phillips and Luca Connell came back into the side after illness.

Clarke said: “Luca and Phillo have a lot of history against Bolton and know a lot about them. I thought they would give us a little bit more experience and nous. I knew Luca would probably only give us 55 or 60 minutes.”

Defender Donovan Pines added: “This was a team win. We wanted to prove something. We were down but we came out the second half guns blazing. It’s really positive.

“At half-time we said we could turn their fans against them and we just needed to keep going. We felt momentum shift then got the goals.”