A red card for Garath McCleary couldn’t stop the Royals winning on Saturday afternoon.
The ex-Nottingham Forest man opened the scoring after nine minutes when he tucked home the rebound from his own saved penalty and he was able to witness Jaap Stam’s men go two goals to the good when John Swift struck just before the half-hour mark.
Unfortunately, the man who got the opener was then sent off for a tangle with Conor Hourihane, while an Adam Armstrong goal got Barnsley back in it.
But the Tykes couldn’t grab a leveller, allowing Reading to travel back to the Madejski Stadium with all three points.