Barnsley under 18s extended their club record to sixth successive wins and consolidated their position in the play-off spots with a 4-2 home win over Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.

 

After trailing 1-0 at the break, the young Reds levelled on 55 minutes through Nana Boakye-Yiadom who acrobatically turned in George Smith's cross.

 

George Maris got his first eight minutes later following a goalmouth scramble. Maris then scored the goal of the game when he finished off a superb 12-pass move with a nice right-foot shot from ten yards. Crewe made it 3-2 but Maris completed his hat-trick when he fired into an open net after a good run down the right wing and pull-back by Dominic McHale.

 

Coach Mark Burton said: "It was a good performance and nice to pay Crewe back for beating the lads 5-1 earlier in the season. The pitch was very heavy and it was a windy day but it was testament to the lads' commitment to attractive, one-touch football that they still played some great stuff.  The third goal would have been raved about if it had been on Match Of The Day.

 

"Our main aim is to get players signed on professional contracts but we want to do that in tandem with playing well and winning matches. The lads are very excited about being second in the league and it would be a great experience for them to make the play-offs."