The Reds battled against a strong Stoke City side, but were defeated 4-2 in the Sky Bet Championship here at Oakwell.
A double from Sam Clucas and further goals from Lee Gregory and James McClean secured the three points for the Potters after Cameron McGeehan and Patrick Schmidt brought Barnsley back into play in the second half.
Caretaker boss Adam Murray made one change to the side which fought back to draw 2-2 with Bristol City last time out, as McGeehan returned to the starting line-up in place of Malik Wilks.
This was the first time Barnsley had faced Stoke in 12 years when the two teams played out a 3-3 draw at Oakwell back in 2007.
The Reds fired first on that occasion, but this time around, it was Stoke who had the early advantage when Sam Clucas gathered the ball inside the Barnsley half and audaciously chipped Brad Collins eight minutes in.
Five minutes later, the Potters almost doubled their advantage when McClean was played in down the left side of the penalty area, but a strong save from Collins at his near post denied them a second.
Up the other end, Cauley Woodrow carved out the first opportunity of the game for the Reds as he lined up a shot from distance, however his effort was well handled by Jack Butland in the City goal.
On the half hour mark, Stoke were awarded a penalty when McClean got in behind again and went down inside the area under a challenge from Alex Mowatt. Lee Gregory stepped up to take the spot kick and rolled the ball into the bottom left corner, sending Collins the wrong way.
Two minutes were added on at the end of the first half, but Barnsley couldn’t fathom another opportunity to break down the Potters defence before the break to reduce the deficit.
HALF TIME: BARNSLEY 0-2 STOKE CITY
At the half-time interval, the Reds made their first substitution of the game, as Toby Sibbick was replaced by Luke Thomas.
Just two minutes later, Thomas was involved in the thick of the action as he set-up McGeehan for his second of the season. The midfielder’s perfectly weighted pass from the edge of the area found the onrushing Northern Irishman who emphatically smashed the ball into the top corner of the net.
Then, in the 57th minute, Thomas caused problems again as he cut in from the right flank and looked to get a shot away, however, as he pulled the trigger, he appeared to have been fouled by a Stoke defender inside the area, but referee Jeremy Simpson waved the appeal away.
With 63 minutes on the clock, Collins was called into action again, saving with his feet to block a close-range effort from McClean.
However, a minute later, the Potters were able to restore their two-goal advantage when Joe Allen latched onto a loose ball inside the area to slot home with a first-time effort.
In the 68th minute, Clucas got his second of the game and Stoke’s fourth when he leathered a shot from 25-yards-out into the top corner to leave Collins with no chance.
The Reds fought to get back into the match as Dimitri Cavaré burst forward and unleashed a curling effort towards the bottom right corner, but his shot nestled just wide of Butland’s goal.
Schmidt was brought into play in the 81st minute and with his first touch of the match, fired past Butland to reduce the scoreline to 4-2.
FULL TIME: BARNSLEY 2-4 STOKE CITY
REDS XI: Collins, Dougall, Diaby, Brown, McGeehan (Wilks, 75), Woodrow, Chaplin, (Schmidt, 81), Cavaré, Sibbick (Thomas, 45), Halme, Mowatt (C).
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES: Radlinger, Andersen, Oduor, Simoes.
STOKE CITY XI: Butland, Edwards, Ward, Allen (C), Batth, Ince, McClean, Martins-Indi, Gregory, (Vokes, 90), Clucas, (Ndiaye, 73), Woods.
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES: Federici, Carter-Vickers, Diouf, Powell, Campbell.
