Paul Heckingbottom hails hard-woking Reds and hero Adam Davies - Burton Albion 0 Barnsley 0

The Reds extended their unbeaten run to three Championship games after an entertaining, end-to-end goalless draw at the Pirelli Stadium.

It was certainly the archetypal games of two halves, with the Reds enjoying the better of the first period and then seeing goalkeeper Adam Davies in great form in the second as the Brewers piled on the pressure.

Heckingbottom said: “Obviously we were pleased with the clean sheet, especially after Burton came at us in the second half. It was a classic game of two halves. We could have made things easier for ourselves had we taken our chances in the first half, but then Burton came back into it.

“They’ve beaten some good sides at Burton, and they do make life difficult for you. They put balls into the box and you have to defend them.

“We couldn’t get hold of the ball in the second half. Burton are a big, physical side, but we worked hard and came away with a point.”

Adam Armstrong and Sam Morsy missed very presentable chances during a first half the Reds largely controlled.

After the break ‘keeper Davies came to the fore as the Brewers pushed on, looking to score their first-ever goal - at the fourth time of asking - against the Reds.

Davies saved brilliantly from ex-Red Chris O’Grady, Ben Turner’s header, and then in stoppage-time he was breath-taking in somehow keeping out Lloyd Dyer’s effort from point-blank range.

The Reds return to Championship action after the international break on Saturday week when they welcome struggling Wigan to Oakwell.

Hero Davies

ADAM Davies was the main reason why Barnsley left Burton Albion with a hard-earned point on Saturday.

The 24-year-old ex-Owls goalkeeper was in brilliant form once again at the Pirelli Stadium, making a handful of crucial stops as the Reds pocketed another potentially precious point and a clean sheet on their travels.

Little wonder boss Paul Heckingbottom showered praise in the Welsh ace after the match.

Asked about Davies’s latest star showing, Heckingbottom said: “He was terrific. I think when we watch some of the saves back, his positioning was probably spot-on.

“They put the balls into the box and you have to defend them, but when they did beat us, we had Davo to thank for two or three really good saves.

“When he gets his angles right he makes it so difficult for strikers to finish.”

Davies made the free switch from Hillsborough in the summer of 2014, and has now made 92 appearances for the Reds.

He has helped his team secure an impressive five clean sheets from 16 Championship games so far.

Travelling fans’ backing is tremendous

THE Reds certainly can’t have any complaints about the support they’re getting this season in the Championship.

The vociferous travelling army that followed their team to the East Midlands and Burton’s Pirelli Stadium on Saturday was typically superb.

An almost 2,000-strong Red Army was in terrific voice at Burton - the total crowd figure was left than 5,000 - and that inspirational atmosphere must get through to the players on the pitch.

The Championship is an exciting adventure, and while the quality of opposition has increased measurably since promotion from League One, the Barnsley players deserve great credit for the way they have acquitted themselves so far - and so do their fans.