Barnsley fell to defeat after Nottingham Forest overturned a deficit to claim a 3-1 victory under the lights at Oakwell.
The early stages were devoid of clear-cut opportunities as both sides struggled to get a foothold in the game.
Forest were the first to call a goalkeeper into action, forcing Brad Collins to be alert and collect a driven cross from Brennan Johnson after the midfielder surged down the right flank.
Collins then gave the Oakwell faithful a brief scare with a miscued clearance that fell to Joe Lolley but had his blushes spared by a skewed speculative effort.
However, it was the hosts that drew first blood when Tobias Figueiredo felled Cauley Woodrow inside the box, allowing the Reds captain to step up and convert from the penalty spot.
The opener rallied Markus Schopp’s men, who ramped up the pressure for a spell after breaking the deadlock.
The ball fell kindly for Romal Palmer on the right-hand side of the box, but the midfielder could not find the right side of the crossbar with a rising strike.
However, as Forest pushed for an equaliser, the Reds found themselves weathering a storm and Liam Kitching was forced to make a superb block to prevent a dangerous Djed Spence cross wreaking havoc.
Lolley then burst forward down the left flank and unleashed a powerful low strike, which whistled past the post to the relief of the Reds.
James Garner was the next to try his luck for Forest but saw his tame shot from distance held comfortably by Collins.
A frenetic period had followed the goal but chances diminished in frequency as the half-time whistle approached.
HALF-TIME: Barnsley 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Barnsley almost doubled their lead within eight minutes of the restart but Samba managed to palm away a close-range effort from Woodrow.
It was then the turn of the visitors to threaten but Kitching rescued the Reds with a spectacular last-ditch challenge, thwarting Johnson as he raced through on goal.
Collins was the next to deny Forest, making a crucial save from a Philip Zinckernagel shot after Lolley had cut the ball back from the left.
However, Zinckernagel found the target less than two minutes later when he put Forest back on level terms. Johnson lured Collins out of his goal before squaring to the Dane, who was able to steer into a vacated net.
Zinckernagel then turned provider by threading through to Johnson, who produced a composed finish to edge Forest ahead.
With momentum firmly behind Forest, they continued to test the Reds and Zinckernagel stung the palms of Collins with a thunderous strike from the right-hand side of the box.
The lead was soon extended when Alex Mighten darted into the box with the help of some deft footwork before firing across goal, putting the ball on a plate for Lewis Grabban to tap into an empty net.
Steve Cooper’s side continued to pile pressure on the Barnsley backline and Collins had to react quickly to get down and hold on to a left-footed drive from Jack Colback.
With a minute left on the clock, the Reds came close to pulling a goal back when Woodrow found Leya Iseka and the forward drew an impressive from Samba with a powerful header.
FULL-TIME: Barnsley 1-3 Nottingham Forest
Barnsley: Collins, J. Williams, Styles, Kitching, Brittain, Woodrow (c), Moon, Palmer (Leya Iseka 72’), Oduor (Gomes 80’),Frieser (Adeboyejo 65’), Helik.
Unused: Walton, B. Williams, Sibbick.