Barnsley kept their hopes of survival in the Championship alive as they defeated Reading 3-1 at the Madejski Stadium this evening.
Both sides had good chances at the start of the match as Stephen Dawson saw his early effort saved by Alex McCarthy, who managed to hold the ball as the midfield tried to snatch it on the rebound.
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Minutes later, Garath McCleary raided into the box beating three players, but his shot was well stopped by Luke Steele.
However, it was the visitors who took the lead when Chris Gunter's backpass was picked up Marcus Pedersen, and he laid the ball back to Dawson who found the corner with McCarthy stranded.
Reading hit back straight away as they won a penalty when Pavel Pogrebnyak was brought down in the area. The Russian took the spot kick himself and sent Steele the wrong way to level the scores.
After half time, the visitors regained the lead when Reuben Noble-Lazarus picked up the ball on the right and took a touch inside on his left foot. He then curled the ball into the top corner over McCarthy.
It got better for Danny Wilson's side as they scored a third in the 57th minute as Dale Jennings launched a shot from 25 yards into the top corner leaving McCarthy no chance.
Reading pushed to get back into the game and had a great chance when Pogrebnyak squared for Royston Drenthe, but he fired his effort over the bar.
The home side continued to press and Steele denied Alex Pearce as he tipped his header over the bar after the defender had latched on to Jordan Obita's free kick.
Barnsley were able to hold out and claim a vital win in their fight against the drop.
Simon Sinclair
