Bees unable to break down resolute Linnets

With so much Tuesday night football all season there has been plenty of choice of where to pitch up each week, whether that be locally, a bit of distance or somewhere I’ve wanted to go this season.

I think it’s fair to say alongside a few others Barnet were not doing a great job of enticing me to watch them over the last few weeks and I’m putting that down to events both on and off the pitch, one causing the other to no doubt in my mind make supporters feel the distance between themselves and the club is starting to make itself known once again.

I can’t complain however at the offers the club have put on so far this season, typically though it’s always been the weekend I have my kids but on a Tuesday night there’s no such obstacle and the offer of a fiver entry to see the Bees take on Kings Lynn saw me decide The Hive was my destination instead of a trip to Haywards Heath to see them take on Worthing, a chance to see what Tommy Widdrington and Hugo Langton have managed to do with the Linnets, the latter I know well from spells around Kent and Sussex.

Both sides were in need of a win, the Bees having had a stuttering two months not helped by off field distractions and are by no means safe from relegation whilst Lynn are beginning to run out of time to get the results needed for another season in non-league’s top flight.

After coming back from 2-0 down at Torquay last weekend, Dean Brennan named an unchanged side which I don’t think has happened on too many occasions this season, but it was the visitors who started the strongest and made all the early running with the Bees struggling to get out of their own half.

The Linnets could have been in front inside the opening ten minutes with Aston Oxborough forced into a diving save to prevent Josh Barrett from giving Lynn the lead. Barnet did respond with Ross Marshall’s flicked header unable to be forced over the line whilst Reece Grego-Cox got in behind a dithering Lynn defence but Paul Jones was equal to tip the striker’s effort over the bar.

Grego-Cox was inches away from connecting with an Ephron Mason-Clark cross into the box on the half hour after good work from the winger and Adam Marriott had fashioned the chance.

That though was about as good as it got for both sides in the first half, chances very limited and neither side extending the opposition goalkeeper too much, a lot of huff and puff but not much to shout about.

The way the Bees came out for the second half certainly suggested a few words were said at half time and the period of extended pressure should have brought about a goal. Just a couple of minutes in Teddy Howe was denied by a fine save from Jones followed by Mason-Clark’s shot deflected into the side netting after a mazy run.

Grego-Cox was then denied by the keeper a minute later and as the pressure increased Ben Richards-Everton low drive was destined for the bottom corner until Jones turned it round the post.

That said the Linnets absorbed the pressure and the scoreline stayed 0-0 although on the hour mark they should have been ahead. Barrett’s drive was palmed out by Oxborough and Cameron Hargreaves skied the ball over the bar when it should have nestled in the back of the net.

Brennan certainly went for the win the same as he did on Saturday with Rob Hall replacing Ryan De Havilland and Daniel Powell replacing Grego-Cox. Powell went close with 11 minutes to go, having rolled his defender he dragged his shot across goal with Mason-Clark unable to divert it past the keeper.

With the Bees again enjoying a good period of pressure, Mason-Clark’s skill saw him flick the ball over the defender’s shoulder and head towards the penalty area where Jones’ legs stopped the winger giving the home side the lead.

Howe again was put in a prime position from a Hall pass but chose to shoot instead of crossing and got his angles all wrong, the ball arrowing the wrong side of the post into the half dismantled terrace behind the goal.

The visitors had two glorious chances to snatch the points, Barrett’s effort clipping the top of the crossbar on it’s way over while Oxborough raced from his goal to make a fantastic save from Michael Clunan to keep the scores level as the game entered stoppage time.

There was one final moment to win it for Barnet, Hall driving into the box but putting his effort the wrong side of the post leaving the referee to blow up and the sides to share a 0-0 draw.

Despite it not ending how the home side would have wanted a second draw in a row and a clean sheet is a couple of positives given that recently anything other than a loss has been hard to come by.

The Bees were missing an entire back four and with at least three players playing out of position can we expect too much more? Both loan signings in Marshall and Grego-Cox look shrewd acquisitions, the former organising vocally as well as with his boots whilst the latter a willing runner with a little bit of quality.

Impressed with De Havilland in the middle of the park, set pieces were spot on the money bar one free kick in the first half and considering he’s really here for next season he showed some nice touches for someone who hasn’t played a lot of football at this level.

Good to see Giuliano Grazioli after the game, of course had a great Zoom chat with him during the first lockdown but since then we’ve managed to miss each other at games and also great to know Ben Strevens was also out watching, contrary to the Only Barnet forum his only other visit to The Hive was as boss of Eastleigh.

Nice surprise to see Kevin Mullen too, an ex-commercial manager of the club when I used to do a lot of sponsorship and hospitality during Underhill times, was really nice to catch up, that’s been a lot of years!

After the game I was able to spend some time in the office with Brennan, Dave Anderson and John Dreyer, who were already analysing the entire game just an hour or so after it finished.

I appreciate I am lucky to know a lot more than at times can be let out to every supporter through various sources and outlets and some of that I wouldn’t let on because there some things I can say and some has to be in confidence.

Both reminded me that since Xmas we’ve had a rough couple of months with two bouts of covid hitting the club followed by the racism allegations and a struggle with recruitment, it’s been too stop-start in their eyes and quite frustrating.

We have the clarity with Dean’s job title that I think was needed to be put right behind the scenes with lots going on there and those calling for him to go because the performances haven’t been spot on etc just refer a little to the paragraph above, that’s not to make an excuse but let’s put it this way.

The last two years our club foundations have been built on quicksand and they are the whole reason why we sit in 16th place in the table, changing manager’s again would be continuing that quicksand reputation.

When we get to the summer this year there won’t be 12 or 13 going through the door, it’ll be 5 or 6 in my opinion giving us a solid base to build upon, we haven’t see that for a while.

With a poor managerial appointment last summer this season has been all about surviving in this league and pretty much getting those foundations in place, the rest of this season won’t be pretty I can assure you and I tip my hat to those of you who follow week in week out.

We knew after seven games this season was a write off despite that brief moment where everything was going well and we hit form, those off field things that hit us derailed everything, if Chesterfield, Stockport, Boreham Wood continually missed players and got to our point of missing an entire back four would they still be grinding results out? You know that answer.

John Dreyer will be a good addition to what we have already, we actually have a backroom structure to the club and with a fresh pair of eyes and a different voice he knows he’s got work to do.

As Dean alluded to in the Beespod interview about recruitment starting in November, we are underway and not waiting for June like we have in previous years, it’s what we’ve been crying out for and why we won’t see a massive exodus come the end of May.

I don’t think we can underestimate that last week’s meeting between TK and Dean how huge that was, if DB wasn’t in the manager’s chair last Tuesday night when I spoke to him then we were looking at quicksand again.

Some of this might look like I’m blowing smoke up DB’s arse, but we can’t keep swopping and changing the management team and then expecting a miracle for nine months, give him the tools and then if he cocks it up it’s on his head!

You can see from the three new signings they’re an improvement on what we have, but more has to come and I’m confident it will.

What I will say is trust the process………..