THE Reds' pre-season fixtures started with a 2-0 defeat against FC Halifax Town on Saturday.
Youngsters including George Smith, Nana Boakye-Yiadom, Danny Rose, Reuben Noble-Lazarus and James Bree all got a run out in the match watched by 1,257 people at The Shay.
Both sides went close early on, but Rose should have put Barnsley in front when the young striker rounded Halifax's goalkeeper before seeing his effort cleared off the line.
The local lad spurned another chance just a minute later, but the 20-year-old couldn't sort his feet out in time to finish off a Will Hoskins cross.
Halifax didn't waste their opportunity to make the breakthrough and went ahead thanks to Matty Pearson, who bundled home in the 41st minute to beat Luke Steele following a sloppy spell of defending.
The hosts doubled their lead and sealed the win before the break through new signing Scott Boden, who latched on to Matt Glennon's goal kick clearance.
"It was a disjointed performance," said Barnsley manager Danny Wilson. "You can take one or two things out of the game but not a great deal.
"It was more about about getting some match practice in. I don't want anyone to read anything into this match.
"We've seen areas that we need to strengthen. We know we need someone for the right-back position as well as looking at the midfield and striking positions."
