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Unsung Hero: Barnsley’s Ben Williams delivers tough-tackling Championship debut
Barnsley were just minutes away from a second home win of the season last Saturday, only for an 89th-minute Charlton penalty to ensure a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw at Oakwell.
Cauley Woodrow’s exquisite volley had given the home side a 34th-minute lead but Charlton soon levelled through Conor Gallagher, the teams going in level at half-time. [via Sky Sports]
Conor Chaplin restored Barnsley’s advantage shortly after the interval on his first league start for the Reds and they led for almost all of the second half before Lyle Taylor’s late penalty rescued a point for the Addicks.
Although Daniel Stendel’s men were denied victory at the death, they have now stretched their unbeaten home league run to 29 games and put last week’s 0-3 Carabao Cup defeat to Carlisle behind them.
Barnsley lie 14th in the Championship table after that result, with a win, a draw and a defeat from their first three games back in the second tier.
Stendel made two changes to his starting line-up on Saturday from the previous week’s loss at Sheffield Wednesday, with Chaplin and Ben Williams coming in for Alex Mowatt and Dimitri Cavare respectively. [via Sky Sports]
Left-back Williams made his Championship debut at Oakwell against Charlton and the 20-year-old did not look out of place at this level judging by his performance.
The Welsh youngster won four of his five tackles on Saturday, more than any other player on the pitch, and also recorded three clearances and two interceptions. [via WhoScored.com]
He also had the most touches of anyone in the game with 78, a full 10 more than the next most active player in team-mate Cameron McGeehan. [via WhoScored.com]
Williams completed two key passes in the game, although the accuracy of his distribution was one of the weaker aspects of his performance with a success rate of just 68%. [via WhoScored.com]
However, the young left-back has plenty of time to work on that part of his game and looked quite assured for someone who had never previously played at this level and who was making just his 16th senior appearance.
Williams’ display against Charlton could see him retained in the team for tomorrow night’s trip to Birmingham and, if so, he will have deserved his place in the side.
Barnsley fans, can you see Williams building on his performance against Charlton over the course of the season? Give us your thoughts by commenting below!
