Daniel Stendel was pleased his first ever Boxing Day game ended with victory in a match his side ‘controlled’.
The Reds won 2-0 over Peterborough United who they leapfrogged into sixth in League One.
German head coach Stendel, who is used to having three weeks off at this time of year, told the Chronicle: “It was a good win. We won 4-0 against them before (in Peterborough on October 6) and it was one of our best performances. “This time we controlled the game after the first ten minutes, 200 per cent. It was a very good performance and I am happy to win my first ever Boxing Day game.”
The Reds had to play without top-scorer Kieffer Moore who was ill, and his place was taken by fit-again midfielder Kenny Dougall who played defensive midfield in a 4-1-4-1. Stendel said: “Today we found out Kieffer Moore was ill so we put in Kenny Dougall and, in the end, it was the best decision.”
Alex Mowatt, who opened the scoring, said: “We definitely deserved the win. We dominated the game and they didn’t have many chances at all. It was nice to get the goal and, after that, we dominated the match and we played good stuff.”
Stendel was delighted with Cauley Woodrow who curled in the second goal from outside the box. “It was a fantastic goal and he also played very well. It was his best performance for Barnsley. I am happy with how he has developed in the last weeks.”
Posh boss Steve Evans was furious that Kenny Dougall did not concede an early penalty for a trip on Mark O’Hara and was not sent off for bringing down Ivan Toney who was booked for diving instead. Stendel said he did not think the first incident was a penalty but suggested that he expected Dougall to be sent off.
“I was too far from the situation, but I was a little bit surprised that the striker got the yellow card. But the referee was near to the ball. That was not the reason that Peterborough lost. We were the better team from the start and our victory was more than deserved.”
