Familiar traits back to haunt us
After tasting defeat midweek at title chasing Sutton Utd, Barnet were back at The Hive at the weekend where under performing Dagenham & Redbridge were the visitors in the first of two matches over the Bank Holiday weekend.
The Bees more than matched the U’s on Tuesday evening and with the games coming thick and fast in May, there is no let up for a threadbare squad, well not that bare if those on furlough were allowed to play.
After keeper Aymen Azaze suffered a potential season ending injury in the midweek defeat, Adam Parkes was brought in on an emergency loan from Championship side Watford leaving former number one Scott Loach still on furlough, the former making his debut between the sticks.
There was also a return to the starting line up for Michael Petrasso whilst Antonis Vasiliou was back on the bench as Simon Bassey had to juggle the numbers with no Liam Daly nor Sam Skeffington.
The pattern for the full ninety minutes was set within the first ten minutes of the game, the visitors controlled possession and Barnet only able to play on the counter attack, possibly the best way with the lack of ability and quality within their ranks.
However it took until the 21st minute for ex-Bee Paul McCallum to draw a save out of Parkes and the young keeper wasn’t called into action until 12 minutes later to save from Angelo Balanta. In-between the Bees were struggling to retain possession, something that’s become a feature of the past few performances.
With the Daggers getting most of their joy from the marauding wing play of Mauro Vilhete and Andy Eleftheriou, any goal looked like it was going to come from either side with a ball into the box.
As it was it came from a set piece, the undoing of Barnet’s season. Parkes carried the ball out instead of releasing it and from the corner, despite a one handed save from the young stopper, it fell to McCallum who made no mistake to put the visitors in front, a goal that was coming.
Dagenham were doing a superb job in keeping Petrasso quiet and Ephron Mason-Clark frustrated, neither finding joy on the wing nor swopping sides and Courtney Baker-Richardson then starved of any service.
The Bees best chance of the half came in stoppage time when Mason-Clark was fouled on the edge of the penalty area, but Alexander McQueen’s free kick was straight into the wall and the subsequent rebound volleyed well over the bar.
The second half followed the same pattern, Dagenham controlling the game and Barnet chasing shadows around the pitch. Parkes was called into action just after the re-start with a super save from Vilhete to stop the ex-Barnet player from increasing the scoreline.
However, the visitors did double their money ten minutes into the half, Matt Robinson with a fine top corner finish well out of the reach of Parkes. Three minutes later Parkes had to save again this time from Will Wright as the home side struggled to cope with the relentless pressure coming in waves from the Daggers attack.
Bassey’s double change of Tomi Adeloye and Antonis Vasiliou with around twenty minutes to play to try and force a goal from somewhere almost paid dividends a few minutes later but Vasiliou shot over the bar from the best effort of the half from Barnet.
With the visitors dominant throughout and the Bees huffing and puffing but not producing anything the points headed back to East London to leave Bees fans reflecting on a performance which was very much removed from the previous five.
Barnet certainly missed the energy of Skeffington in midfield and as mentioned really struggled to get anything going at the top end of the pitch, Dagenham were far superior across the pitch and Elliot Justham had not a single save to make which throws back to shades of performances under previous managers.
Whether it’s a lot of games and a squad stretched thin with injuries coupled with a refusal it seems from the club to take any more players off furlough Bassey will have to make do again with a trip to Weymouth on Bank Holiday Monday unless any of his walking wounded will have recovered in time.
It does again raise the question of consistency, the one thing needed to win this league and Bassey will learn more from these performances than wins or draws.
Superb game from Matt Preston at the back, not much at all if anything missed his head but not very many got going at all in any part of the game besides the skipper, quick turnaround now and trip to the coast on Monday, only seven more left to suffer now………