In a match littered with VAR delays, it was the touring Barnsley side who chalked up win number four of the summer against a strong Arminia Bielefeld outfit.
As the 2019/20 Sky Bet Championship season edges ever nearer, Head Coach of Barnsley FC, Daniel Stendel will have been delighted with this fourth successive friendly victory.
The German hosts of Bielefeld had held Premier League side Norwich City to a 2-2 draw last week but on this occasion, the eye-catching attacking play from Barnsley saw them too good for their Bundesliga 2 opponents.
There was a welcome return to the starting XI for Sami Radlinger in this match. The giant Austrian 'keeper took a knock in the warm-up prior to the Toulon win and has been resting since then. And he made a sharp early save to keep out Blues striker Fabian Klos.
But Arminia did strike early; a break down the flanks by Reinhold Yabo and a tidy finish at the near post by Klos for 1-0.
The Reds hit their stride after the quarter-hour mark, with first Conor Chaplin - making his Reds bow - and then Cam McGeehan trying their luck from range, but seeing efforts slip wide.
The hundreds of Reds supporters who'd followed their team overseas were in tremendous voice and even more-so when on 26 minutes Mallik Wilks leapt to head home a Ben Williams cross from the left-hand side.
It was 2-1 Barnsley just a few minutes further in as the new-look frontline combined with precision to go ahead in the match; superb footwork and speed from Luke Thomas as he raced towards goal, he picked out Chaplin inside the box and to the left who in turn put the ball on a plate for Cauley Woodrow who just doesn't miss a gaping net, slotting home from five-yards out, point blank.
Both Reds goals were referred to VAR, which delayed the proceedings, as did the referral for a great challenge by Toby Sibbick, with the referee agreeing that there hadn't been an infringement in the Barnsley penalty-area despite the hosts' claims.
HALF TIME: Arminia 1-2 Barnsley
An early second half opening saw Woodrow plant a header just over the crossbar via another teasing Chaplin delivery.
VAR again came into play before the hour mark when Thomas thought he'd bagged after great play from Wilks out wide to supply him. He was ruled offside.
It was 3-1 Reds soon after however, as Chaplin pressed the home side, then went on a run, beating opponents at will before crossing towards the back stick where somehow Thomas half-volleyed the ball home from an acute angle.
Chaplin had been superb and was instantly replaced by Mama Thiam, receiving a great ovation from the travelling Reds as he made way for the Senegalese.
With 15 minutes remaining, Bielefeld forward Andreas Voglsammer was upended in the box by Alex Mowatt, penalty given after another lengthy VAR check which the German striker tucked away, sending Sami the wrong way and making it 3-2.
There were late appearances for Kieffer Moore, Callum Styles, Aiden Marsh, George Miller and Jordan Helliwell and the Reds had only a couple of long-range efforts to deal with from Arminia, to see out another impressive victory on the road.
FULL TIME: Arminia 2-3 Barnsley
Radlinger; Sibbick, Andersen, Diaby, B.Williams, Thomas, Mowatt, McGeehan, Wilks, Woodrow, Chaplin.
