Daniel Stendel was ‘very proud’ of his players after they came from behind to beat Blackpool 2-1 which completed an unbeaten season and strengthened Barnsley’s grip on second place in League One.
Harry Pritchard put the visitors ahead on 15 minutes but the Reds dominated the remainder of the game and scored through Cauley Woodrow and Liam Lindsay.
Stendel said: “The tension was very high today for me and the players. But I told the players it was just a normal game and we needed the best performance. After the 1-0 for Blackpool, we played well.
“We created a lot of chances and we deserved to win. Blackpool didn’t really have any chances after the first half. I am very happy with the performance and I am very proud that my team can show this performance in a situation which is not easy.”
Leaders Luton Town lost 2-1 at Burton Albion, meaning they are now level on points with Barnsley but have a better goal difference. A 1-1 draw between third-placed Portsmouth and fourth-placed Sunderland means the Reds will definitely gain promotion with a final day win at Bristol Rovers on Saturday but could go up on Tuesday night if Sunderland fail to win at Fleetwood Town and Portsmouth lose at home to Peterborough.
Stendel said: “Other clubs have done very well for us which is good. But we have one game left and we need a very similar performance and another win in Bristol so we can 100 per cent make sure we get automatic promotion. We are very happy today about our game and results in other stadiums but we will come back to training on Tuesday and be focused on Bristol.
“I assume that we will have to win on Saturday. The best thing is to prepare for Bristol as if we have to win it. We cannot influence other games and I think our rival teams will win their games anyway.”
Lindsay added: “The other results made it a perfect day, I couldn’t believe them when I saw them. The job is not done yet but we’ve won four on the spin for the first time this season and we’re going into the last game with lots of confidence.”
Lindsay said the squad were planning to watch coverage of the Portsmouth and Sunderland games in midweek. He said: “It’s been said that we will watch it together as a group. I am sure someone like Davo (captain Adam Davies) will sort it out for us. Hopefully it will get done that night but, if not, then we will look to finish it off in Bristol.”
Lindsay’s goal was his first of the season in the league and the first time a Barnsley centre-back has headed in a goal during their promotion challenge. Stendel said: “This was the big surprise for us on the bench. We celebrated it more in the dressing room after the game. We have spoken so much with our centre-backs who are so good in the air when defending so they should have a big chance to score goals at the other end. We have needed 45 games which was not the idea but we have won because of this goal so I am happy.”
Lindsay added: “We had loads of corners and Cam (McGeehan) whipped some good ones in so, if I didn’t score, I would have been getting a wee kick or punch in the dressing room after the game. It was great to score such a big goal.
“We were brilliant today. We have come back from a goal down before so we knew we could do it. The goal they scored gave us a kick. Cauley equalised at the perfect time just before half-time. We got the winner then saw it out defensively.”
The only blemish on an otherwise perfect day for the Reds was Jacob Brown’s injury which forced him off just before half-time. Stendel said: “I don’t have any information about him but it was precautionary and we hope he can play next week.”
