Bees bag vital win
It’s back to Barnet on this blog, in fact a good couple of weeks since the Bees were last in action. Not much has changed in the world since then apart from ructions all over the National League but that can be for another blog.
Halifax Town. 2nd December, my birthday last year and Beadle’s collection on the way to a massive thumping, 5-0 down after an hour whilst I was making my way round London in Steve McKimm’s cab as a birthday treat to myself, better than the one the Bees would have delivered if I’d watched the stream instead.
Two and a half months on from then Barnet are in a position where draws are no good and wins only are welcome against a backdrop of uncertainty with regards to when, if, or maybe the National League will see a conclusion in any of it’s three divisions. In these times though professionalism is the only thing that can shine through and it’s been a tough ask for Tim Flowers and his staff with what they inherited, but that’s the reason they are now in the job.
There have been signs at times that things are coming together, new players incoming and a more compact team shape. Two recent postponements while might not have helped in getting a run together for results, you only have to look at Eastleigh currently, no covid or weather interruptions and now on a very good run.
What it has done though is allow Flowers to work harder on that team shape and expectation and give them time to gel the team together despite all the uncertainty off the pitch.
It’s pretty fair to say we were owed a performance from that December night, the same can be said when Woking visit The Hive this coming Saturday. Of course there are many differences from those two games to now and on Tuesday evening it certainly looked as if that training ground work and cohesion of team ethic and shape is beginning to bear fruit.
The early exchanges were fairly even as both sides settled into the game, an early chance for Courtney Baker-Richardson who got in front of his man but not enough purchase on it to trouble Halifax stopper Sam Johnson. At the other end Scott Loach made a fine save to deny the visitors the lead on 13 minutes, the impressive Jeff King at the hub of everything going forward for the Yorkshire outfit.
Liam Daly had a half chance to open his Bees account, a half volley which he cut across and ended up just past the post mid-way through the half. The visitors were enjoying more of the possession but Barnet looked dangerous when breaking forward and the Bees took the lead just after the half hour mark.
A marauding run from winger Michael Petrasso saw the Canadian let fly from around 20 yards and the ball slip through the fingers of Johnson to put Barnet in front for the second game running. The goal was Petrasso’s seventh of an injury hit season, a touch of class added to every game he plays in a Bees shirt.
Against both Aldershot and Altrincham in recent weeks Barnet were unable to hold onto a lead and you could only hope game management has been worked upon to defend a goal advantage.
It actually got better for the Bees before the half time whistle, Antony Wordsworth with what can only be described as a peach, a belter, a worldie, hit a half volley that just arrowed past Johnson and into his top left hand corner. Significant because it was the first time Barnet had been in front by two goals all season, we’re in February, you can tell how the season has really gone! And the last time we scored twice in a league match, yes away to Halifax!
Barnet being Barnet couldn’t go in 2-0 up though, immediately after Wordsworth’s wonder strike the Shaymen went down the other end and reduced the deficit in stoppage time King left unmarked at the far post and rifled the ball past Loach.
What you would have expected from that point based on the season so far was for Barnet to capitulate, but what I noticed as they walked off the pitch was the body language of the players, a sense of disappointment they’d let a goal in rather than that goal’s gone in and downhill we go from here, hard to explain but it looked more than it wasn’t going to faze them.
Sure enough it didn’t. As mentioned above the game management for the second half was spot on, every player carried out exactly what they needed to do.
Unsurprisingly the Shaymen threw everything at Barnet, but to a man they were equal to it all from JJ Hooper at the front to the back four, indeed Loach had no serious saves to make to ensure the Bees recorded their first win in 100 days and move off the bottom of the National League table.
It’s almost unfair to pick out from what was probably the best team performance of the season but here goes! Myles Judd as a loan player has had a stop start spell with suspension and games called off and looked like he wasn’t quite up to speed before last night, but that 90 minutes everywhere in the right place for an interception and as Flowers says he likes a tackle, can easily see this becoming a loan until the end of the season should his form continue.
Jerome Binnom-Williams has rightly taken some criticism across social media this season, nothing vile thankfully but a lot of questions around his time on the pitch. Yes, he went missing for the goal Halifax scored but beyond that he did what I think Flowers is asking for, just defend. A long way to go still for this guy but it’s finally looking like he understands what is required of him.
We now have two centre halves in Liam Daly and Ben Richards-Everton who just defend, head, foot, body, whatever is needed, we don’t need anything else there. Goals at set pieces will begin to come next I feel, one routine almost came off with Daly’s shot just off target from Richards-Everton’s header back across goal.
Hooper another one whose been in question as times, for me held the ball up better than he has done all season and put himself about more, also now understanding more what’s being required of him no doubt? Even when Muhammadu Faal came on for the last nine minutes, there was more correlation in his play to be in the right position and make it hard for the opposition.
As stated above Woking at home this weekend, a chance for back to back wins and another side we owe a performance against. The away game was the first time after watching Beadle’s post-match interview that I felt he didn’t know where to go from that game and downhill it went more rapidly after that.
100 days is a long time in the world of blogging and football, let’s hope it’s only going to be four days until the next victory, good news and joy is a rarity at the moment………