The game sprung into life in the second half with Bolton keeping a consistent level of pressure on the Barnsley backline and received their just rewards in the 64th minute when Neil Danns curled a spectacular effort beyond Luke Steele from just inside the penalty area.
Speaking after the game, boss Dougie Freedman told the press he was pleased with the spirit shown by his squad and always thought the game would open up in the second half.
“It was a hard fought victory and a well-deserved three points this afternoon. It was a very tough game, Barnsley have recently appointed a new manager and they put up a real good fight.
“I thought the first half was very tight and there wasn’t much in the game but in the second half the game picked up naturally.
“We defended very well and our front players came into their own and we deserved to win the game.
“The game opened up naturally in the second half. We defended very well when Barnsley put crosses into the penalty box and our front players started to come more and more in the match. Our attacking players can be lethal on their day and today they produced.
“Neil Danns took his goal extremely well and it was a great finish but we were sustaining pressure on Barnsley’s goal throughout the second half and it looked very likely that we were going to score.
“We will keep on plugging away, we are showing fantastic spirit but today we played very well from front to back, especially in the second half and we now look towards Sunday’s game at Leicester City.”