Vaz Te: at the double

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Hill hails Vaz Te contribution

Barnsley manager Keith Hill was full of praise for Ricardo Vaz Te after the striker’s brace gave the Tykes a 2-1 npower Championship victory over Crystal Palace on Tuesday night.

The Portuguese forward put the home side in front after just seven seconds before restoring Barnsley’s one-goal advantage late in the second half after Jermaine Easter had levelled for Palace before the break.

After his struggles in English football, leading to his release by Bolton, Hill believes 25-year-old Vaz Te is finally coming into his own during his second spell in England.

“He has probably got a little bit of scar tissue from his previous experience in England,” he said.

“He’s understanding me, I’m understanding him and he knows what we want from a team aspect but he’s got the individual ability to win football matches.

“He’s holding down the responsibility but it will take time. It’s a progression.

“I have never seen a goal as fast as that before and it was a great goal. He is capable of that.

“But with the demands of the Championship, there might be a little bit of burnout somewhere because he hasn’t fulfilled a full league campaign before.”

Barnsley have now won five of their last six games to move into the play-off positions. However, Hill is refusing to get carried away.

“In this league you look how tight it is and it is unforgiving - you see how some teams have plummeted,” he added.

“We don’t take anything for granted and there is no arrogance of where we are or what we’re trying to achieve. We want to get to 50 points as quickly as we can and see where we’re at.

“It’s a superb run, but I just remember the first three games of the season. I don’t really look too heavily into a sequence of results.

“Those three games will always make me remember how difficult managing in the Championship is.”