Alex Mowatt’s last two matches against Portsmouth have been disappointing but they have given him motivation ahead of tomorrow’s trip to the south coast.
Barnsley’s central midfielder– who played his 50th game for the Reds at Gillingham this month then turned 24 four days later – missed a penalty at Fratton Park last season while on loan at Oxford United. He then slapped Pompey defender Nathan Thompson who celebrated in his face and was sent off in a 3-0 defeat.
Mowatt said: “It wasn’t the best of games but I am hoping to put that right on Saturday if I play. I was frustrated with myself for missing the penalty. It happened and hopefully it doesn’t happen again. I might get stick from their fans but I don’t really mind.”
Mowatt made a rare mistake at home to Portsmouth this season, gifting Gareth Evans the ball for his opener in a 1-1 December draw. He said: “It was a sloppy goal from me so that is another motivation.”
Mowatt’s central midfield partner Cameron McGeehan also has painful memories of Portsmouth, having broken his leg against them in 2017 then being booed off by their fans. He said: “I spoke with Cam about it the other day. He said he doesn’t think he’ll get a good reception there and I was saying I wouldn’t either. But that’s part of the game and I think we will enjoy it.”
Mowatt has started all 33 of Barnsley’s League One matches so far this season, with centre-back Ethan Pinnock the only other player to do so. He said: “A footballer gets good form when he plays every game. You have seen that with me and Ethan, who has been outstanding this season. My target was to play every game at the start of the season and hopefully I can do that.”
Mowatt is not worried that Tuesday’s draw with Burton Albion let Sunderland move within four points of the Reds with a game in hand. He said: “You can’t just look at other teams’ games in hand and think they will win them. We didn’t win our game in hand against Burton on Tuesday.”
Only Mamadou Thiam and Cauley Woodrow of tomorrow’s likely Barnsley squad have scored more goals this season than Mowatt but all of his strikes have been at Oakwell. He said: “I have got five goals this season and, if I could use my right foot, it might be more. I have missed two one-on-ones in the last two weeks which is frustrating but we still won the games.”
