DANNY Williams has relived the moment Garath McCleary came to his aid at Barnsley – and was then sent off.

Williams was left in a crumpled heap following a heavy challenge by Tykes skipper Conor Hourihane in the 34th minute.

Hourihane then stood over Williams and appeared to hurl abuse in the Reading midfielder's direction.

But when McCleary ran over to protect his Royals teammate by pushing Hourihane to the ground, referee David Coote brandished a straight red card for violent conduct.

McCleary, who had put Royals ahead by tucking home the rebound from his own penalty that was saved, is now suspended for the next three fixtures.

But Williams defended the Royals winger, also known as simply 'G'.

He declared: “I’m an emotional player, and G is as well like you saw on Saturday.

“He tried to help me out because I was fouled [by Hourihane] and then he leaned over me and called me something.

“And then G helps me out and he gets a ban for three games. That’s football. But we are happy with the three points.”

McCleary immediately apologised for his action on social media.


He tweeted: “I apologise profusely. I was defending DW & had head loss which played into their hands. The boys done excellent for the remaining 60mins.”

Reading were forced to battle on with 10 men for almost an hour before securing the 2-1 victory that ended third-placed Barnsley's 100% record at Oakwell this season.

They were already 2-0 up by the time McCleary was sent off thanks to John Swift's sensational second goal, which can only have impressed watching England Under 21s boss, Garath Southgate.

The Tykes did pull one back late on through on-loan Newcastle United midfielder Adam Armstrong, but it was too little too late as Royals extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to six matches.

Williams beamed: “It is amazing for the guys and I’m very pleased.

“What a goal from Swifty and G put the ball away again. If we had stayed 11 men I think the score could have been even higher.”

Saturday's victory moved Reading up to seventh in the Championship table, but Williams insists the players are not getting carried away.

“The dressing room was bouncing at the end, but it’s all controlled,” he explained. “We’re not getting carried away by these results.

“It was a massive result and Barnsley are a very good team, especially their front four, so we had to dig deep to get the three points.

“This result gives the lads a massive boost in confidence again. We know that we can go anywhere in this division and beat anyone.

“Even against Newcastle, where I know we were beaten 4-1, we looked very good.

“We’re unbeaten in a month, and it’s all about momentum and consistency in this division.

“I’ve been here three years and this league is very tough and it’s about momentum.”

McCleary is now suspended for tomorrow night's EFL Cup third round clash at Brighton (7.45pm) followed by league fixtures against leaders Huddersfield Town this Saturday and Brentford next Tuesday.