Nick Sandamas sees Barnet get a lunchtime point against Cheltenham

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)

Barnet 0 Cheltenham Town 0

Barnet had to settle for a point following a goalless draw in the lunchtime kick off against a stubborn Cheltenham Town side yesterday.

Assistant Connor Smith, in temporary charge due to manager Dean Brennan’s nine match touchline ban for comments made to a female referee in the game against Shrewsbury last autumn, named an unchanged side following last weekend’s impressive away win against Walsall.

In a game of few chances it was the home side who started the brightest with a good move in the sixth minute ending with Nmamdi Ofoborh’s shot from just outside the box being beaten away low down by Robins’ keeper Joe Day.

Minutes later, Ryan Glover produced a good cross into the box for the waiting Kane Smith whose sliced shot ended up going towards the far post.

Then, with twenty minutes played, Mark Shelton tried his luck after good play between Glover and Smith but the number 19’s shot went just over the bar.

A minute before the half time cuppa, a Glover cross from the right found the unmarked Adam Senior in acres of space, but his header went wide.

Steve Cotterill’s side made two changes for the second half but the Bees looked more eager for the breakthrough and just past the hour mark made a triple chance themselves. One of those brought on, Britt Assombalonga, was denied by Day with a smart stop following Glover’s ball into him.

Midfielder Jack Howland (on loan from Millwall) came on for his debut with ten minutes left and showed some flashes of why Brennan bought him to the club.

With eight minutes of normal time remaining, the Robins’ one and only chance of the game came when a ball from their own half found Issac Hutchinson but, as he was being tracked by at least two Bees defenders, he could only shoot straight into the arms of Ciaran Slicker.

Despite the injury time sending off of Robins’ sub Arkell Jude-Boyd for a foul on Phillip Chinedu, the breakthrough failed to come but the Bees still managed to stretch their unbeaten run to six games to keep them just three points off the final play off spot.

A test comes this coming Tuesday with Ian Holloway’s third placed Swindon Town side visiting The Hive.

Team: Slicker, Smith (Chinedu 62), Collinge, Kizzi (Tavares 62) Senior, Glover, Shelton (Assombalonga 62). Hartigan, Ofoborh, Tshimanga, Kanu (Howland 80)

Subs not used: Evans, Jaiyesimi, Winterburn

Attendance 2429 (289 away fans)

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