Barnsley head coach Connor Hourihane had no complaints over the 3-0 defeat at Exeter City and felt his side ‘never got going’ at St James Park.
It was another frustrating afternoon for the Reds as they were well beaten by a Grecians side that started the day in the relegation zone. But they looked anything but relegation fodder with goals from Ilmari Niskanen, Jayden Wareham and Reece Cole earning them a well-deserved win.
“It was disappointing and we weren’t quite there today, for whatever reason,” Hourihane said. “The lads that have been brilliant in training all week but, for some reason, we were flat.
“Credit to Exeter because they did their homework on us and played really, really well but for us, it’s a frustrating one.
“I thought we started the game well and did OK, but I felt that was it. It was 15-20 minutes where we did OK, then we lost our way a little bit, but we can’t keep being really, really good one week and then really, really poor the next week. We have to find that middle ground to make us more that little bit more consistent because, at the minute, we are taking one big step forward and then a big step back.
“I wanted a reaction at half-time, but they obviously then got a couple of goals to put us to bed and obviously the game was gone, which was disappointing and there was no reaction then either.
“We have been very good in the forward line, Patrick Kelly and Reyes Cleary had a bit of an off day today but we can’t keep looking at these guys. They are young players and some of the senior players need to step up in key moments as well and help them along. It’s disappointing that they didn’t get a kick today.”
Barnsley’s best spell came in the opening 20 minutes, but it wasn’t until stoppage time that they finally registered a shot on target. Now, Hourihane will go back to the training ground and get his players prepared for the next instalment of the Christmas period, which is the Boxing Day clash with Mansfield Town at Oakwell.
“We are constantly working on everything, whether that is in possession, out of possession, or set plays – we are always working on everything, so we will go back and review the game and look to improve,” Hourihane added.
“We have Mansfield at home next, so it’s good to have a game coming around so quickly. It’s a game that we can go and win, if we perform well, and the lads need to regroup and go again.”
Hourihane will be hoping that Adam Phillips is fit for action after going down injured at Exeter and being substituted moments later. “I think he is fine, we just did it as a precaution. Everyone else is all good as far as I am aware," he said.
“We have a couple of home games now with Mansfield on Boxing Day and Lincoln back-to-back, so a couple of exciting home games to come.”
