Conor Hourihane concerned by Barnsley’s inability to keep a clean sheet

Barnsley head coach Conor Hourihane is desperate for his side to keep a clean sheet after a 1-0 defeat at home to Doncaster made it 23 games without one.

Former Tykes forward Elliot Lee came back to haunt his former club as he scored the only goal from the penalty spot to give Rovers the bragging rights in this south Yorkshire derby.

Hourihane said: “We huffed and puffed and we tried.

“I think over this five-game period, since we’ve really kind of honed in on it, I feel like we’ve looked way stronger and harder to beat but we’ve just not had the clean sheets.

“I think today was probably the typical game where you come away with a clean sheet, but it’s just a penalty incident went against us.

“We’ve just not had that clean sheet at the end of it, which is probably something that I feel like we definitely deserved, but obviously you don’t always get what you deserve.”

Doncaster manager Grant McCann saw his side move five points above the drop zone, and he said: “We’re building.

“I’d say since New Year’s Day we’ve been really strong. Our performances have been good.

“Let’s see how many points we can pick up from now to the end of the season, and see where it takes us.”

The crucial moment in the game came when Hakeeb Adelakun was brought down by Corey O’Keeffe and Wrexham loanee Lee made no mistake from 12 yards.

McCann added: “I was a little bit surprised with Barnsley and how much they sat off us in the first half because I thought maybe in a derby game they would come after us.

“(Goalkeeper) Timmy (Thimothee Lo-Tutala) didn’t have a lot to do apart from one or two point-blank saves that he dealt with well, a lot of shots from distance, but the shape of the team was good and I’m pleased with the three points.”