[BFC SITE] REDS DEFEAT READING AT OAKWELL

Fixtures

• Barnsley Vs. Reading - Sat, Sep 13 2025, 15:00

The Reds recorded their first win against Reading at Oakwell since 1996 with a 3-2 win on Saturday afternoon in Sky Bet League One.


It was almost the perfect start for the Reds, as just four minutes into the game, Jonathan Bland nearly found the back of the net. Some neat play from the Reds resulted in Davis Keillor-Dunn pulling the ball back to Bland, who struck hard and low from twenty yards, but his effort just whistled past the post of the experienced Joel Pereira.

Just five minutes later the Reds came close again; it was a free-flowing move by the Reds, as McGoldrick flicked the ball into Bland’s path, and the midfielder galloped up the pitch before eventually being dispossessed. The ball eventually found its way to Keillor-Dunn, who tried his luck from range and forced a fine, full-stretch save from Pereira.

The early pressure eventually paid off for the Reds, as they took the lead in the ninth minute. A teasing Caylan Vickers delivery was well met by Josh Earl, whose header had the required accuracy to find the back of the net from close range.

The Reds looked to be taking full advantage of set pieces early doors, as a deep Luca Connell free-kick delivery once again found the head of the goal scorer Josh Earl, but the defender was off balance, and his effort went wide.

The game began to settle over the next twenty minutes, after such a frantic opening period. The Reading shot stopper Pereira required a short spell of treatment that gave both sides the opportunity to regroup and take on fluids.

In the thirty-fifth minute, the visitors were level. Murphy Cooper looked to have beaten Jack Marriott to a long ball, but the forward's persistence paid off as he dispossessed the Barnsley shot stopper before converting into an empty net from outside the box.

Half Time: Barnsley 1-1 Reading

The Reds looked to make a quick start to the second period, just as they did in the first. A neat McGoldrick flick set Nathanael Ogbeta in on goal, but the full-back was denied by an impressive Royals recovery.

The first chance of the half for the Royals came in the form of a Lewis Wing free kick. The midfielder looked to catch Murphy Cooper out at his near post with a dipping effort, but Cooper did well to push the ball wide and away from danger.

Just under ten minutes into the second half, the Reds once again had the lead. A pinpoint switch of play by Connell found Ogbeta in behind the Royals' back line near the byline. Ogbeta volleyed across the box first time and found Keillor-Dunn in space, and the forward man made no mistake in heading home from close range.

In the fifty-eighth minute, the Reds were awarded a penalty. Luca Connell hurried the play, feeding the ball just inside the box to Ogbeta’s feet, who went down after a rash challenge from a Royals defender, and the referee wasted no time in pointing to the spot.

Adam Phillips stepped up from twelve yards and made no mistake, coolly sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to extend the Reds’ lead to two.

In the sixty-sixth minute, the away side halved the advantage to just one. Marriott played a simple ball back to Daniel Kyerewaa, who struck from twenty yards and found the bottom left corner past the despairing dive of Cooper.

In the seventy-fourth minute, Luca Connell almost got himself on the scoresheet. The Reds captain swung his left boot at a free kick; his effort looked to be troubling Pereira, but the strike didn’t have the required dip to really trouble the Royals goalkeeper.

In the ninety-fifth minute, Lewis Wing once again tried his luck from a free kick; this time the midfielder looked to strike to the side of Murphy Cooper, but the shot stopper made an impressive, acrobatic save to tip the ball over.

Full Time: Barnsley 3-2 Reading

Reds XI: Cooper (GK), Shepherd, Vickers (Farrugia 83’), Phillips (Yoganathan 94’), McGoldrick (Russell 67’), Ogbeta, Watson, Bland, Earl, Keillor-Dunn, Connell

Unused substitutes: Flavell (GK), De Gevigney, Rooney, Cleary.

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