The return of Jamie Reid was overshadowed by a brace from Elliott List as Stevenage finally found their shooting boots with a comprehensive win over Barnsley.

Last year's top scorer had not kicked a ball throughout pre-season or in any of the competitive games so far this year.

But it was List, brought off the bench on 52 minutes, who sparked an excellent second 45 from the hosts.

He got his first on 54, Carl Piergianni adding a second five minutes later, and finished it off on 89 for a 3-0 victory.

All the talk of a misfiring Stevenage can be banished after that effort, although now it will be expected every week.

After a two-week break from matches, Alex Revell made eight changes although two of them were enforced.

Both Dan Sweeney and Kane Smith picked up injuries last time out against Lincoln City and sat this one out.

Dan Butler, Dan Kemp, Tyreece Simpson, Elliott List, Dan Phillips and Louis Thompson also missed out.

Besides Reid, the boss brought in Luther Wildin, Nick Freeman, Charlie Goode, Lewis Freestone, Harvey White, Eli King and Jake Young.

It was a first start for King while Young made his debut after his deadline day switch from Bradford City.

Going into the game, talk from the home side was about converting more chances.

Talk at half-time was the lack of shots from Stevenage.

They only had one, Reid in stoppage time with a scuffed effort that went straight to Glabriel Slonina.

He had moved it back inside after getting in behind the Barnsley defence but never had the ball or himself under full control and it was all a bit rushed.

Not that the Tykes were much better although they did have the one glorious first-half opportunity.

It came on four minutes too as Josh Earl was allowed to saunter into the box unchecked.

He got the shot away too but Murphy Cooper was out quickly to make an instinctive and vital stop.

The only other attempt was a scuffed shot from Barry Cotter which went wide of Cooper's near post.

For the remainder of the half, Stevenage got into some good positions, White putting the ball into the box a couple of times from set-pieces.

They never quite fell right as did chances to cross from Roberts and Goode, the latter also having to head over from beneath his own bar.

Barnsley made two changes at half-time, both defensively but it was a Boro change that finally broke the deadlock.

List had only been on for two minutes when the ball fell at his feet from a corner.

Reid had tried to shoot first but the deflection ran out to the right and List, guilty of some big misses so far this season, silenced the doubters with a finish inside the near post that was as confident as it was firmly struck.

Five minutes later another corner, this one from the left, was delivered inch perfectly by White for Piergianni to head home with a typically bullet header.

It was a deserved lead for Boro who had been much more impressive, perhaps taking advantage of the gaps now Donovan Pines was missing.

But once the first went in, there seemed to be a collective step up from Stevenage, the handbrake coming off and the doubt lifted.

Kemp was just off target, List was sniffing for a third and there were more before they finally got a third.

And it was another goal mired with simplicity, Louis Thompson squaring it low and leaving List with the shot into the roof of the net.

Much more like it from Boro.

Match details

Stevenage (0) 3 Barnsley (0) 0

Stevenage: Cooper, Wildin, Piergianni, Freeman (L.Thompson 72), Roberts (Kemp 72), Goode, Freestone, White (Phillips 72), Reid (Simpson 72), King, Young (List 52).

Subs (not used): Bouzanis, Butler.

Goals: List 54, 89, Piergianni 59

Booked: Phillips 78, Freestone 82, L.Thompson 86

 

Barnsley: Slonina, Cotter (O'Keefe 46), M.Roberts, Pines (Watters 46), De Gevigney, A.Phillips, Cosgrove (Jalo 60), Craig (Humphreys 60), Earl, Keillor-Dunn (Benson 67), Connell.

Subs (not used): Killip, Lofthouse.

Goals: 

Booked: De Givigney 64, O'Keefe 79

 

Added time: 3+5

Referee: Jacob Miles (Sussex)

Attendance: 4,206 (including 923 from Barnsley)