Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray praised the “natural talent” of Bradley Dack after his brace helped his side edge Barnsley 3-2.
Gerhard Struber’s side displayed character in his first game to come from behind twice, but were undone by defensive frailties and Rovers’ top scorer made them pay.
A terrible pass from Mads Andersen led to a simple first goal of the afternoon for Dack in the 24th minute, which was cancelled out by Conor Chaplin’s second of the term just after the break.
Stewart Downing’s superb 20-yard drive restored the lead 21 minutes from time, before Barnsley’s top scorer Cauley Woodrow forced the ball over the line with just eight minutes remaining.
But Dack was left free in the area in the 86th minute to scramble home after his initial header was saved.
After making it back-to-back home wins, Mowbray praised Dack’s contribution in what he described as a ‘dangerous’ game.
He said: “I love watching Dack when he gets wrapped up in it like he did in the second half, working, running, going playing where the ball is, playing like a kid in the playground really and he’s got such natural talent.
“He scored his goals and helped us win the game. He scored a couple of weeks ago. Bradley is fine. As I said, we basically want him to get wrapped up in the game.
“It was all about getting three points, I think. That’s what we talked about, not about performance levels, but just trying to get three points. I think it was a really dangerous game for us.
“I’ve watched Barnsley and I have to say they’re a pretty good team. I like the way they play, I think they’re full of energy, youthful, play forward.
“I watched them 2-0 up at half-time against West Brom recently and that’s why I say it’s a dangerous game because the perception is that they’re bottom of the league and you have to beat them, which we do, and we did.”
For Barnsley, there were positives but they have now conceded 36 goals this season – just three fewer than in their promotion-winning campaign last season.
Struber conceded work needs to be done defensively, but felt his side deserved something from the game.
He said: “In the second half we created a very good game and one point was the minimum we deserved.
“We have a long to-do list and especially when we build up, we had a better position, and these were not magic moments, but we planned and we build up and have more control.
“Then when we lose the ball we have a better situation from pressing and this is the most important thing now.
“On the other side, we need to clear when the opponent had set pieces. This is a task for every player, and we lost the game because of that. It’s a very disappointing result.”
Asked whether the Tykes can stay up, Struber added: “Yes, absolutely. The situation is difficult, yes, I am not a dreamer.
“But I know when we can create in the next time, better positioning, better control on the ball, I think that we will have good chances to win games and this is our task, and I trust my team will get better next time.”
