Debut goal for Luton striker McAtee at Barnsley labelled 'pure class' by Tykes boss

Luton striker John McAtee opened his Barnsley account with a debut goal at Wigan Athletic on Saturday, producing a finish that was described as ‘pure class’ by Tykes manager Neil Collins.

The 24-year-old had moved to Oakwell on Thursday evening to sign for the League One club for the remainder of the season and was straight into the squad that travelled to the DW Stadium.

Introduced on 65 minutes when the visitors were 1-0 up against their 10-man opponents, McAtee should have been up and running earlier, home goalkeeper Liam Roberts misjudging a long ball forward to leave him clean through, but with an empty net gaping, he rolled a left-footed shot wide of the target.

However, McAtee made no mistake in stoppage time, as when picked out by Aiden Marsh, he clinically beat Roberts with a low drive via the inside of the post.

Speaking to the club’s official website about the goal, Collins said: “Pure class finish.

"He'll like a couple of his chances back, but that is the sign of a good striker, never get flustered.

"I think the fans are really going to enjoy John, he's going to be their type of player.

"He plays with a lot of heart, but he's got a lot of quality.

"He's going to score some exciting goals, I think, for us.

"The competition for places is important, John adds to that.”

Although he featured during Luton's pre-season campaign ahead of his move, McAtee hasn’t started a first team game since his loan spell with Grimsby last season, a 1-0 victory over Barrow on April 18.

He had been on the bench for Town’s Premier League opening day 4-1 defeat at Brighton, but admitted a lack of match action could be one of the reasons behind his glaring miss, saying: “Those ones, when you're in the groove of playing, they come second nature.

"I had so much time to think about it and when it missed I just had to put it to the back of my head.

"Thankfully, another chance came and I ended up putting it away so I'm glad that happened.

"I'm happy to help the lads.

"Three points is what matters at the end of the day.

“I thought the lads did really well, we had a gameplan.

"The red card may or may not have helped but 'D' (Devante Cole) got his goal early doors. I'm just delighted to get three points."

With his future secure for the season, McAtee, who had impressed Town boss Rob Edwards since his return to Kenilworth Road from the Mariners, now wants to improve on a campaign where he managed to find the net just four times in 32 outings.

That came after a year in which he bagged 16 goals for the Mariners, as he added: “The season before last, I thought I had quite a strong season; last season, I wasn't as good as I wanted to be.

"I've got a fire in my belly at the minute now to go and put that right.

"I'm quite a confident person, I believe in myself.

"I've got that bit of extra hunger this year because of what happened last year, I wasn't too happy with my performances."