JOSEPH Richardson, Will Almond and Kean Scorgie were all on target as York Schoolboys under-13s won 3-0 at Barnsley.

The visitors were without five regular players from last season, so needed to call in players from outside the squad with a view to retaining their services.

York started slowly with Barnsley having the lion’s share of possession against a team unfamiliar with each other.

The hosts managed the first shot in anger which saw keeper Alex Graves make a difficult save look easy and, instilling confidence in the York defence, he went on to make several good saves.

He also plucked the ball out of the air from corners or balls into the box and the commanding of his area and distribution were excellent, turning defence into attack with pin-point kicking or throwing.

Barnsley went on to break on York, only for the quick Dylan Jones to set the tone for a man-of-the-match performance with a great sliding challenge winning the ball and showing the kind of commitment every manager wants to see from his players.

The away team needed to make a few last-ditch challenges, meanwhile, inside their own box asd Jack Whelan and Noah Morgan stood up firm, along with Jones and Ryan Evans As the half wore on, York started to play some good passing football with Evans, Luca Chan and Bobby Boyeson combining well on the left, while Reuben Pugh and Almond were also working extremely hard.

York went on to make a sub, with the fresh legs of Sam Clark giving York new belief after playing a few forward balls and tackling well.

An industrious Richardson, meanwhile, was trying to get in behind the Barnsley back four on the right wing, whilst also chasing back helping out the defence.

In the second half, a few changes were made with Mitch Parkinson coming on up front and Scorgie introduced just in behind.

Parkinson never gave the home defenders a minute’s peace, tirelessly closing them down and the breakthrough came as Richardson latched onto a through pass before chipping a bouncing ball over the keeper.

In response, Barnsley fought hard and made a couple of chances, which sub keeper Henry Jackson had to be strong to deal with.

But York began to take greater control of the game and doubled their lead when, after a good passing move, Almond latched onto the ball and lashed it with his left foot beyond the keeper into the net.

A now comfortable York then completed the scoring with five minutes remaining, as a defence-splitting saw Kean Scorgie use his great pace to run through one-on-one with the keeper and slot the ball home.

Morgan, Scorgie, Pugh and Almond were all commended for great performances, giving Jones strong competition for his star-man award.

Elsewhere, York Schoolboys U11s lost 2-0 to Leeds A.