Barnsley’s strong start to the season continued as they picked up their fifth win from the opening seven league games, the first time they have achieved this since 2016-2017.
It also means they have lost only one of their opening nine games in all competitions in 2025-2026 – the first time they have achieved this since 2018-2019 (also 1 defeat in 9)
This victory was Barnsley’s third successive win in all competitions, a feat achieved for the first time since another run of three between the 22nd February and 1st March.
The ball was set rolling by a rare goal for Josh Earl, just his third in 67 appearances for the club; however two of those have come in successive Oakwell meetings with Reading!
It is the second successive home game in which Barnsley have opened the scoring after nine minutes as Davis Keillor-Dunn also did so against Huddersfield last time out.
Earl is however the first Barnsley defender to score since Georgie Gent against Lincoln on the 1st March.
After an error by goalkeeper Murphy Cooper gifted the Royals an equaliser DKD restored the lead with his fifth goal in seven league games this season which makes him the division’s joint top scorer along with three other players. He has now scored in 21 different matches for the Reds and they have gone on to win 15 of them (71%)
DKD has also now scored in three successive meetings with Reading having netted both home and away against them last season.
The points were ultimately made safe by an Adam Phillips penalty, the sixth time he has netted from the spot for the Reds (from 35 goals altogether)
It was the first time Barnsley have been awarded a penalty in 23 outings (all competitions) since Phillips effort from 12 yards secured a 1-0 win at Rotherham on the 22nd February.
This was the third time in four home league games this season in which Barnsley have scored three times, the first time such a feat has occurred since 1996-1997 when they scored three in each of their opening three home league games and ironically two of those matches were also against Huddersfield and Reading.
They have netted 10 goals in their opening four home league games which makes them the joint highest home scorers in the division along with Bradford.
Home and away four of Barnsley’s five league victories so far this season have seen them net three goals with their goals for tally of 14 only bettered in the EFL by three teams – Swindon with 17 and both Coventry and Huddersfield with 15.
It is the first time they have remained unbeaten in their opening four home league games of a season since 2018-2019 when they remained unbeaten at Oakwell for the entire League One campaign.
They are half way to their total home league wins for 2024-2025 whilst it took until New Year’s Day and 12 matches to reach three home league wins last season.
Murphy Cooper picked up his third booking of the season, the first Barnsley keeper to accumulate so many yellow cards in a season since Brad Collins in 2021-2022 (4) and all three have come in second half injury time.
Barnsley have now received five post 90 minute yellow cards so far this season (from a total of 22) – 22.7%.
This was Barnsley’s first home league victory against Reading for TWENTY NINE YEARS! They last defeated the Royals in a league game at Oakwell on the way to winning promotion to the Premier League when they defeated them 3-0 in August 1996.
They also won 3-0 against them at Oakwell in a League Cup tie in September 1998 before going 12 meetings without victory before this weekend (D7 L5)
Remarkably this result ended a run of six successive Oakwell draws between the two sides with seven of the last eight games ending in a stalemate.
The Royals have scored twice in each of their last three visits to Oakwell but failed to win any of them (D2 L1)
Both teams have scored in the Oakwell meeting in each of the last nine clashes with Barnsley the last team to draw blank in a 4-0 drubbing in March 2012.
Home and away Barnsley are now unbeaten in six meetings with Reading (W3 D3)
They have scored at least twice in each of the last five clashes (prior to this run they had failed to in nine meetings)
There were a total of 29 shots in the game, the most at Oakwell this season.
Both teams had the same amount of shots on target (5), the first time this has occurred in a Barnsley game since the 21st April against Peterborough (4 each)
There has been nine corners in each of Barnsley’s last two matches.
There were a total of 34 fouls, the most in a Barnsley match since the 25th April 2023 against Ipswich (35)
Barnsley Team:
1. Murphy Cooper
27. Tennai Watson
5. Jack Shepherd
32. Josh Earl
14. Nathanel Ogbeta
7. Caylan Vickers
30. Jonathan Bland
8. Adam Phillips
48. Luca Connell
10. David McGoldrick
40. Davis Keillor-Dunn
Substitutes:
3. Jon Russell (for McGoldrick 68)
23. Neil Farrugia (for Vickers 83)
45. Vimal Yoganathan (for Phillips 90+4)
Unused Substitutes:
51. Kieran Flavell, 6. Mael de Gevigney, 18. Jake Rooney, 19. Reyes Cleary.
Reading Team:
1. Joel Pereira
39. Ashqar Ahmed
12. Finley Burns
33. Derrick Williams
5. Matty Jacob
4. Ben Elliott
10. Lewis Wing
8. Charlie Savage
32. Paddy Lane
7. Jack Marriott
11. Daniel Kyerewaa
Substitutions:
3. Jeriel Dorsett (for Ahmed 65)
9. Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan (for Lane 65)
29. Kamari Doyle (for Elliott 71)
6. Liam Fraser (for Savage 80)
28. Mamadi Camara (for Marriott 80)
Unused Substitutes:
25. Jack Stevens, 19. Andre Garcia.
Sky Bet League One Results
Saturday 13th September 2025:
Bradford City (2nd) 3-1 Huddersfield Town (6th)
Pointon 18
Pointon 45+4
Neufville 45+6
Redmond 80
Northampton Town (15th) 1-0 Blackpool (23rd)
McGeehan 82
AFC Wimbledon (11th) 2-1 Rotherham United (18th)
Hugill 38
Reeves 50
Stevens pen 67
BARNSLEY (3rd) 3-2 Reading (21st)
Earl 9
Marriott 35
Keillor-Dunn 55
Phillips pen 59
Kyerewaa 66
Burton Albion (22nd) 0-1 Lincoln City (7th)
Bradley 22
Exeter City (16th) 0-2 Port Vale (20th)
Paton 4
Cole 45
Leyton Orient (14th) 1-1 Bolton Wanderers (12th)
Simpson 69
Cozier-Duberry 90+4
Luton Town (9th) 2-3 Plymouth Argyle (17th)
Sorinola 15
Yates pen 20
Ibrahim 45+5
Wells pen 49
Ibrahim 75
Mansfield Town (13th) 1-1 Stevenage (4th)
Goode 70
Gardner 73
Peterborough United (24th) 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers (19th)
Garbett 21
Morgan 41
Onyedinma 49
Stockport County (10th) 1-1 Cardiff City (1st)
Norwood pen 34
Salech 90+7
Wigan Athletic (8th) 3-0 Doncaster Rovers (5th)
Costelloe 11
Smith 14
Murray 50
Barnsley lie in 3rd place in Sky Bet League One with 16 points from 7 games. We are 1 point inside the Play-Offs, 1 point off the Automatic Promotion Places, 1 point off First Place and 11 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 14/9/25
Next Up:
On The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Eight: Blackpool v Barnsley, Saturday 20th September 2025. Kick-Off: 12:30pm
At Oakwell:
League Cup Third Round: Barnsley v Brighton & Hove Albion, Tuesday 23rd September 2025. Kick-Off: 7:45pm
