Iron manager Nigel Adkins was full of praise for the spirit of his side as they kept going until the last minute to beat Barnsley in a vital Championship clash on Tuesday night.

Paul Hayes netted a last-gasp winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time to seal a 2-1 success for the Iron, who bounced back in style from three straight defeats.

Both teams struggled to get going in the opening period, but Gary Hooper opened the scoring five minutes into the second half.

The Tykes were always a danger though, and levelled through Daniel Bogdanovic 12 minutes before half-time after a defensive slip by Rob Jones.

The players never gave up though and heavy pressure towards the end resulted in Hayes' superb strike.

"It was exciting and that's what it's all about," said Adkins, speaking on The Iron Player.

"You come down and don't leave the game early, it's as simple as that - that's the message.

"It was a great finish by Paul Hayes. We built up a bit of pressure towards the end there with several corners.

"We're delighted that we got the victory. Great credit must go to the players for the character that they showed.

"The defeat at the weekend hurt us all, and the first half was a very nervy one - and I think that was a reflection of the weekend.

"There were two teams out there who were very competitive and everyone was scrapping for the ball.

"As the game went on, Gary Hooper scored a great goal through a great cross from Matt Sparrow.

"He had a few one on one situations in the match but we weren't able to capitalise on them.

"Well done to the lads. Barnsley equalised but the lads kept going, rallied round with the belief that they could win the game and they went and did that."

See much more from Nigel Adkins, Paul Hayes and Martyn Woolford on The Iron Player.