PATRICK Kelly was pleased with his full Barnsley debut, other than missing a penalty in the shoot-out.
The 20-year-old midfielder, who signed permanently from West Ham this summer, impressed during the 2-2 EFL Cup draw with Fleetwood Town on Wednesday but hit the crossbar with his spot-kick which could have sent them through.
The Reds won anyway thanks to two saves by goalkeeper Murphy Cooper.
Kelly told the Chronicle: “I am happy enough but I was disappointed with the penalty.
“I didn’t miss in training but in the game I hit the crossbar.
“That’s the way it goes sometimes.
“I said thanks to Murph for digging me out.
“It’s my first start since April.
“I didn’t play any games in pre-season with an injury. I was feeling it towards the end.”
Kelly, who is from Northern Ireland, was in demand this summer.
“I had quite a lot of options in League One and I still had a year left at West Ham.
“The plan at first was maybe a loan again but I spoke to my agent and my family and felt, if I could move permanently, it might be the better choice.
“Thankfully there was a decent offer from Barnsley that West Ham were happy with.
“As soon as I spoke to the manager and the sporting director Mladen (Sormaz) about how they wanted to play, objectives for the season and for me, I wanted to come.
“I played here last season in the EFL Trophy so I knew the stadium.”
Kelly was on loan at Barnsley’s near neighbours Doncaster Rovers last season.
He said: “I loved it there. It was a really good experience.
“Everyone there is top from the manager to all the staff. It couldn’t have gone much better.”
Donny were promoted from League Two and Kelly is hoping to go up again with Barnsley from League One.
“That’s the aim. In the last couple of seasons, even at West Ham in the under 21s, I have been playing for teams at the right end of the table.
“We’ve had a good start but that’s all it is. We need to keep going.”
Kelly is one of many midfielders at Barnsley, including long-serving stars like Luca Connell, Adam Phillips and Jon Russell plus academy talents Jono Bland and Vimal Yoganathan.
“Competition is good. It’s such a squad game so having those options is good.
“There are so many games and it’s a long season. It was the same at Doncaster, no one was guaranteed to play. You have to earn the right.”
On the win over Fleetwood, Kelly said: “We’re buzzing.
“The gaffer said before the game it was about winning and keeping the momentum going. We did that.
“It was a really good team performance. We played the way we want to play from the training ground.
“It was frustrating to concede late in both halves and we should have been more clinical.”
