Barnsley vs Reading. Sky Bet Championship.
Oakwell StadiumAttendance14,149.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Barnsley and Reading at Oakwell as Josh Laurent earned the Royals a massive point at their relegation rivals on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday 2 April 2022 18:33, UK
Josh Laurent rescued a point for Reading as they drew 1-1 with relegation rivals Barnsley at Oakwell.
Carlton Morris' fifth-minute strike put Poya Asbaghi's men into a early lead, but the Royals refused to give up and levelled when Laurent calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Brad Collins.
Coming into the game on the back of impressive results against Bournemouth and Blackburn, Reading looked to continue their fine form in the opening stages.
Ovie Ejaria was allowed room to strike inside the penalty area and was swiftly denied by a low save from Collins.
Almost immediately after Ejaria's chance, the Tykes opened the scoring themselves through Morris' third goal in four games.
Good play on the left between Remy Vita, Amine Bassi and Domingos Quina opened up the space for the striker to compose himself before firing across the helpless Orjan Nyland and into the bottom corner.
Paul Ince's men grew into the contest and with John Swift at the centre of everything, it was the midfielder who squandered a big chance from Ejaria's cross.
Swift was involved again on the half-hour and came close later on, but he could not stab Michael Morrison's long ball past Collins from six yards.
The visitors were again handed a golden opportunity to haul themselves level just before half-time from another Ejaria cross.
The winger delivered the ball to Tom Ince at the back post and he was denied his second Royals goal by a brilliant interception from Vita.
Reading continued to pile the pressure onto their opponents in the second half and thought they had won a penalty when Ince was brought down but referee David Webb booked the winger.
Shortly after Lucas Joao had seen a close-range attempt deflected over, the visitors finally got their equaliser through Laurent's second goal in consecutive games.
Barnsley failed to clear the ball and Morrison's delicate flick to the midfielder opened the angle for him to tap home the leveller.
The draw extends Barnsley's winless run against Reading to 11 games.
Barnsley's Poya Asbaghi: "We've still got hope. If we had won it would have been really good, that's no secret. We're dependent on what Reading do. It's not a nice feeling to rely on other results. We're going to do everything we can to make sure we can get as many points as we can.
"We have seven games left and we've been a team that can lose any game, but also a team that can play against any opponent, like Fulham and Middlesbrough. None of them are impossible to win. We still have confidence in the team."
Reading interim manager Paul Ince: "We dominated the second half and there was only one team that was going to score and that was us. Once we got to 1-1, you are thinking about going for it or taking a point. We decided to go for it.
"We deserved more than a point, we were the best team by far and dominated the game. Barnsley is a tough place and they are fighting for their lives like us, but we dealt with them comfortably, apart from the goal. I would have taken a point before we got here."
