Nick Sandamas on Barnet FC’s steady return to the EFL

The main stand at The Hive Stadium, home of Barnet FC — The Hive (Credit – Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

As we close in on the half way point of the season, Barnet sit comfortably in the top half of the table, just a few points shy of the play off spots in what has so far been a rather congested League Two.

The season though didn’t start well with an early exit from the League Cup and opening the league season with three consecutive losses.

Dean Brennan then tinkered with his squad slightly in terms of tactics and this brought rewards with wins on the road and clean sheets against both Swindon Town & Cheltenham Town.

Keeper Ciaran Slicker had been brought in from Ipswich and went straight into the side for the defeat against Bromley.

In the Swindon game, late goals from new signings Emanuel Osadebe and Dennis Adeniran handed the Bees all three points and Ollie Hawkins struck in the second half against Cheltenham.

A first home point was secured the following week when Danny Collinge scored late against Colchester.

Luton put the Bees to the sword in the EFL Trophy and worse was to follow against Shrewsbury in League Two the following weekend, a performance labelled the worst by the management team as the Shrews left the Hive with all three points in a 3-1 win.

A first ever win at Crewe 2-1 was followed by a comprehensive 3-0 win on home soil against Grimsby with Nmamdi Ofoborh at the double to push the Bees into the top half and end their home hoodoo.

The revival continued with a point at Oldham, a penalty shoot out win against Brighton in the EFL Trophy, followed by back to back 2-0 wins over both Accrington and Tranmere, with strikers Callum Stead and Lee Ndlovu on target once each in both wins.

Then a stoppage time goal by Notts County forward Tyrese Hall saw the Midlands club grab all three points in a smash and grab.

Cambridge were beaten 3-2 in the Bees’ final group game in the EFL Trophy, Osadebe with the winner in the final minute.

Five successive league draws followed, having led in most of them, while in between Fleetwood ended interest in the FA Cup, with a 2-1 defeat leaving just the league to concentrate on.

A resounding 4-0 win over a struggling Bristol Rovers side under The Hive lights with four different goalscorers pushed the Bees into the top half of the table going into the pre Christmas period, with the fourth best defensive record in the division. On the other hand, their unbeaten away league run stretching back to early August was ended by fellow play off contenders Chesterfield who won 3-1 with Mark Shelton on the scoresheet for the second consecutive game in a losing cause.

Callum Stead leads the goalscoring charts with six goals, but probably the player that has impressed so far is centre half Adam Senior who has hit the net five times since his summer move from FC Halifax. He is certainly a player to watch in the second half of the season.

It has been a decent half season so far and, having lost just two of their previous 13 matches (as we went to press), the Bees will be hoping to push on in their attempts to get into the play off spots and beyond.

With the squad’s resolve being tested with four games in nine days over the Christmas and new year period, hopes are high for Deano’s men as we head into the second half of the season.

Happy new year!

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.