Chris O'Grady rescued a deserved point
for Barnsley as they ended a run of four successive Sky Bet
Championship defeats with a 1-1 draw against Reading.
Despite
dominating most of the match, it looked as if the Reds were going to
slip to another loss after Hal Robson-Kanu fired Nigel Adkins' men in
front early into the second half.
However,
after missing a raft of chances, they finally came good in the 79th
minute when O'Grady found the bottom corner from 18 yards - and he could
have won the match soon after, only to miss his kick in front of goal.
Opener: Hal Robson-Kanu celebrates his screamer
It was by far their best performance
of the season and, with just one win to their name, boss David Flitcroft
will hope this result against a strong promotion candidate will
kick-start their campaign.
Although
Reading were outplayed, they could have so easily left Oakwell with
three points as Adam Le Fondre went close and Alex Pearce rattled the
woodwork.
Despite their poor start, Barnsley did not look a side bereft of confidence as they began far brighter than their visitors.
Jason
Scotland had two efforts from good positions, the first he pulled wide
and the second forced Alex McCarthy into a good save down to his left.
There
was a definite sense that the Reds needed to score while they were on
top and they came within inches after 15 minutes when Paddy McCourt
flashed a dangerous ball across goal which just evaded O'Grady's studs.
Again
they searched for an elusive opener as after defending a period of
sustained Reading pressure, Jacob Mellis broke at pace and fed Scotland,
who again drove an effort wide.
Somehow,
owing to a shot from McCourt deflecting just wide in first-half injury
time, Reading were able to get into the half-time interval on level
terms, despite a first period of utter home dominance.
Stop this: Jack Butland could do nothing about the left-footed strike
Tussle: Sean Morrison of Reading tries to tackle Chris O'Grady
And what happened after the restart seemed all too inevitable as the Royals took a 51st-minute lead.
Le
Fondre, a virtual spectator in the first half, had already wasted two
glorious chances after breaking free down the left, but he was bailed
out when Robson-Kanu sent a 20-yard effort flying into the bottom corner
past Jack Butland.
To their
credit Barnsley carried on in the same vein and were almost rewarded
with an instant response but McCarthy palmed away McCourt's effort and
then as Scotland was about to pounce on the rebound, a Royals defender
nicked the ball away.
As
Flitcroft's side pushed for a deserved leveller, Reading looked
threatening on the break and Butland had to be at his best to deny Le
Fondre's stinging effort, with Alex Pearce hitting the bar from the
resulting corner.
But the
hosts got their reward with 11 minutes left. They worked the ball across
the face of goal to O'Grady, who composed himself and found the bottom
corner.
There was only going
to be one winner from then on and the Reds laid siege to Reading's
goal, with O'Grady missing the chance to become an even bigger hero when
he missed his kick in a great position.
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