Barnsley suffered a third successive defeat without scoring a goal as they lost 3-0 at Reading.

The Reds were 2-0 down after a first half in which they played very poorly then, after three half-time changes and a much improved display, they let in a third in the 89th minute. 

Barnsley slipped down a place below Reading in the Championship table to 18th with 20 points from 19 games. 

Paul Heckingbottom made two changes from the side that lost at home to Leeds United on Saturday, with Ike Ugbo replacing Tom Bradshaw up front while Gary Gardner came in for suspended winger Adam Hammill. Brad Potts was pushed out to the right wing with Gardner joining Joe Williams and George Moncur in a central three. Reading had the first chance when Sone Aluko blazed over after a scramble in the boxing following a corner. Another corner led to the opening goal as David Edwards heading in a Liam Kelly corner at the near post on 16 minutes. The second goal was a spectacular 30-yard strike into the top left corner from Joey Van Den Berg who was given plenty of space to run into the Reds half. Leandro Bacuno almost made it 3-0 but volleyed wide and low from the right of the box after meeting a Yann Kermorgant cross on a counter-attack. Harvey Barnes then had the first Reds shot on target but former Barnsley goalkeeper Vito Mannone gathered the scuffed low 30-yard effort. Heckingbottom made three changes at half-time with strikers Mamadou Thiam and Bradshaw coming on for Ugbo and Gardner while Matty Pearson replaced Angus MacDonald. Heckingbottom confirmed the changes were tactical.  Barnsley began the second half much more brightly with Thiam coming closest to a goal as he turned on the left of the home box but he dragged his shot into the side netting. Thiam then hesitated after he looked to have been played through on goal by a poor backpass and, at the other end, Aluko then fired a good chance wide after a good run and cross from Mo Barrow.

Brad Potts forced Vito Mannone into a good save from 20 yards then home centre-back Liam Moore hit the inside of the left post with a low shot from 25 yards.

Barnsley had their best chance of the game when Barnes was put through on goal by a Thiam backheel but fired against the post. 

Five minutes later it was 3-0 as Jon Dadi Bodvarsson headed in from close range after Adam Davies had tipped a long-range effort onto the bar. 

UPDATES AS THE GAME HAPPENED21:54pm: The Reds players go over to applaud the fans

21:54pm: Full-time: Reading 3, Barnsley 0.

21:49pm: That's harsh on the Reds given their efforts in the second half

21:49pm: Adam Davies tipped a long-range shot onto the bar then Bodvarsson headed in from close range

21:48pm: 89 Reading 3, Barnsley 0. Bodvarsson 89.

21:43pm: 84 Barnes hits the post then the ball is scrambled off the line, Thiam again causing chaos in the home box with a backheel pass

21:37pm: But can they make that count by scoring?

21:37pm: Barnsley have been so much better in this second half, far fewer errors, more energy, more shots, more threat

21:37pm: 77 Liam Moore hits the inside of the bottom left post from long range. That was nearly game over

21:35pm: 75 Potts has a low shot from 20 yards which is saved by Mannone. It was a decent, powerful effort towards the right corner but a regulation save. Good build-up from Thiam

21:29pm: 69 Barnes fires wide with a low 20-yard shot after a good run. Barnsley have been much better in this half

21:22pm: 62 Aluko fires wide after a good run by his fellow winger Barrow. Seconds earlier, at the other end, Thiam almost went clean through after a bad Reading pass but seemed to hesitate and it was cleared

21:17pm: The away attendance has been confirmed at 336. Not bad for a long trip on a Tuesday evening

21:16pm: 56 Thiam turns on the left of the area but drags.a 20-yard shot into the side netting

21:13pm: Barnsley have been better in this half than the first already, with a couple of free-kicks and a long-range shot from Yiadom which was off-target

21:12pm: Ike Ugbo and Gary Gardner have gone off after very quiet first halves. We assume MacDonald's foot injury has flared up again but we will ask post-match

21:02pm: Matty Pearson, Mamadou Thiam and Tom Bradshaw are all coming on

20:55pm: Heckingbottom must be considering bringing on winger Ryan Hedges in place of one of the four natural central midfielders and going with two natural widemen

20:55pm: It's strange that Barnsley's defence has looked less solid with two players (Gardner and Williams) in front of them than just Williams as usual

20:54pm: Another poor half for the Reds, who go into the interval 2-0 down for the second time in a week. The first goal was poor marking and goalkeeping then the second was a superb strike from Joey Van Den Berg who should have been closed down better

20:48pm: HALF-TIME: Reading 2, Barnsley 0

20:45pm: 45 Barnes hits a tame 30-yarder straight at Mannone but it's a first shot on target

20:42pm: 42 Bacuna volleys low and wide from a Kermogant cross after a good counter-attack

20:39pm: Almost 40 minutes and Barnsley are really struggling to get a foothold here. They have not had a shot yet and look quite easy to break through at the back

20:32pm: It's looking ominous now for Barnsley at 2-0, Reading look the most likely to add to their lead but Barnsley could make it interesting by pulling one back before the break

20:31pm: It was a fantastic strike but Barnsley should have closed him down better

20:28pm: Reading 2, Barnsley 0. Van Den Berg 30 yards out screamer

20:23pm: Paul Heckingbottom will be very annoyed with that. Edwards scored two goals just like that at Oakwell for Wolves in January and Heckingbottom pointed out that he'd made a career out of near post headers and that his side should have defended it better

20:21pm: Adam Davies possibly could have saved it but seemed to carry it into the net with him

20:21pm: It was.a Dave Edwards header from. Liam Kelly corner

20:19pm: Reading 1, Barnsley 0

20:15pm: Reading have made the better start here but, despite having a few attacks, Aluko's wayward shot is the only chance of the game so far

20:12pm: Angus MacDonald is making his 50th league appearance for the Reds, at the club where he spent ten years as a youngster. He has made two good clearing headers already

20:07pm: Five minutes in and not much going on . Paul McShane nearly lost the ball in his box then, at the other end, Aluko blazed over the top after a scramble from a corner

20:02pm: Barnsley are playing a 4-2-3-1 with Gardner and Williams shielding the back four

19:54pm: The mascots are out waving flags, ready to welcome the two teams

19:49pm: The Reds are unbeaten in four away games, having won at Millwall and Burton and drawn with Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich. Their last away loss was at leaders Wolves, who scored the winner in the 93rd minute on September 23

19:47pm: This is a game in hand for Barnsley tonight. Victory would take them 16th above QPR but a third straight defeat would see them slip below tonight's hosts

19:43pm: 15 minutes to kick-off here at the Madejski Stadium

19:13pm: Home captain Paul McShane also used to play for the Reds, with a loan spell in 2011

19:12pm: Reading goalkeeper Vito Mannone played two games on loan to Barnsley in 2006, when he was a team-mate of Paul Heckingbottom

19:09pm: Reading substitutes: Beerens, Ilori, Clement, Bodvarsson, Popa, Blackett, Jaakkola

19:08pm: Reading: Mannone; Gunter, McShane, Moore, Bacuna; Edwards, Van Den Berg, Kelly; Aluko, Kermorgant, Barrow

19:03pm: Mamadou Thiam is fit enough to return to the bench, alongside goalkeeper Nick Townsend who has come back from his loan at Solihull

19:03pm: Two changes to the team against Leeds. Brad Potts will play on the right wing in place of Adam Hammill who is suspended. Ike Ugbo replaces Tom Bradshaw up front

19:02pm: Substitutes: Townsend, Pearson, McCarthy, McGeehan, Hedges, Bradshaw, Thiam

19:01pm: TEAM NEWS: Barnsley (4-5-1): Davies; Yiadom, Lindsay, MacDonald, Fryers; Potts, Williams, Moncur, Gardner, Barnes; Ugbo

19:00pm: The Reds have only lost three of their last 14 games against Reading since 1998, winning seven, while their last 11 visits to Elm Park or the Madejski Stadium have brought five wins and only two defeats.  

18:53pm: Only the bottom three have picked up fewer points at home this season than Jaap Stam's team who have won two, drawn three and lost four at the Madejski Stadium while scoring just eight goals in nine matches there. 

18:51pm: The Royals lost a penalty shoot-out to Huddersfield Town at Wembley in the play-off final in May but are 18th this season, one place behind Barnsley on goal difference

18:46pm: The match was due to be played on September 19 but it was replaced by Barnsley’s EFL Cup game with Derby County whose match in the previous round at Grimsby Town had been postponed due to rain.

18:36pm: Barnsley will be hoping to avoid going on a three-game losing run in the Championship for the first time since October last year

18:28pm: Good evening and welcome to the Chronicle's live updates of Barnsley's match against Reading at the Madejski Stadium, which kicks off at 8pm