Conor Hourihane said a 'moment of complete madness' by sent-off Jono Bland changed the course of Barnsley's 2-1 loss at Notts County in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.

The Reds trailed at half-time but levelled through Davis Keillor-Dunn then minutes later Bland was given a second yellow card for throwing the ball away. The hosts dominated and won it on 89 minutes.

Head coach Hourihane told the Chronicle: “We started slow, conceded a goal then played some good stuff. At half-time I showed the lads a couple of pieces and told them to tidy up on certain areas. We started the second half really well, were in control and scored a good goal.

“The red card kills the flow completely then we're up against it.

"No excuse. I told him at half-time he was coming off ten minutes into the second half so he knew he had to stay clean for ten minutes. To do that after getting back to 1-1 and cruising, I felt we would have played some good stuff and pin them back, it was a real moment of inexperience.

"He's been brilliant this season. He plays with such maturity for a 19-year-old that to have a moment of complete madness when he knew he was coming off in couple of minutes, it's really really poor."

Hourihane picked a stronger side for the trophy than some of his predecessors.

“I want to win games regardless.

“I want to be competitive in the competition, win games and build momentum. It was a tough week last week and we have a good mix of players to make us look strong. I knew there was an international break around the corner which probably helps the likes of Davo or Caylan Vickers playing again.”

Patrick Kelly has not yet returned from injury. Hourihane said: “It's just dragged on a little bit and the game came too soon. He's had a really good couple of days at the start of this week and, once he comes through training on Thursday, we think he will be involved on Saturday.”