Boxing Day football has long been a tradition in my family although not quite so much in recent years, well a large gap for a while and with circumstances changing it has become a bit more frequent once again.
The Hive was the destination, a local derby against Boreham Wood who have certainly enjoyed more than their fair share of success against the Bees although despite Wood winning both cup games, Barnet took four points off their visitors over the two league games last season.
In front of the BT Sport cameras it was a chance for Dean Brennan’s side to continue their fine form over the past few months and cement themselves in the play-off places before the year ended.
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Despite the visitors starting the brighter it was the Bees who had the better chances and should have been ahead just after the half hour mark, both Ben Wynter and Nicke Kabamba having efforts cleared off the line, the latter on the rebound from the former’s blocked shot, the Wood goal leading a charmed life at that point.
I will however take you back briefly to the 6th minute of the game, Jamal Fyfield with a deliberate trip on Idris Kanu that went unpunished by the referee Daniel Middleton which set a precedent for the remainder of the game as you will see as we head through this blog.
Just the other side of those blocked shots Ryan De Havilland was shown a yellow card for a very innocuous challenge compared to what was going on around the play, Kanu and Wood full back Cameron Coxe having a few moments where Coxe should have picked up a card for constant shirt pulling and holding, the referee however oblivious to what was in front of him.
The sides went in level at half time, the Bees though with more clear attacking intent but unable to find a breakthrough in the first 45 minutes, Wood seemingly happy to bide their time for an opening.
Barnet had the first chance of the second half, Sam Beard drifting inside but failing to trouble Nathan Ashmore a few minutes in, but five minutes later the home side were in front. Good play down the left flank from Kanu and Sam Woods saw the midfielder pick out Wynter on the edge of the box whose volley skimmed off his foot via a Wood defender into the path of Kabamba who made no mistake and drilled home his 12th goal of the season.
The referee then appeared to get another decision wrong after Marvin Armstrong went down in the box after being trod on, the midfielder booked for simulation instead.
Two minutes later came the flashpoint that had possibly been building thanks to the inept performance from the man in the middle. A coming together on the touchline for a throw in saw Bruno Andrade and Kabamba, the Bees striker alleging a bite from the Wood player and a melee ensued, the referee sending both players off the pitch.
Wood dealt with going down to 10 men better than the home side amid yet more bizarre refereeing, Wynter injured in the box resulted in play being stopped and Wood awarded a free kick outside the box after the defender received treatment.
The visitors finally got the equaliser with 11 minutes to play, a shot in from the right hand side was spilt by Laurie Walker and Wood reacted quick enough to level the scores through Jack Payne, the pressure finally paying off.
However, Wood then retreated back into themselves and as the clock ticked down Barnet applied the pressure, substitute Dan Powell found himself in the same position as on Tuesday evening but Ashmore held his shot across goal.
Still the Bees poured forward and Rob Hall won a free kick on the edge of the box, Wood defender Femi Ilesanmi receiving a slightly harsh second yellow card and the visitors down to nine for the final couple of minutes.
Just as we were expecting Hall to clip the ball into the box fellow substitute Dale Gorman rolled the ball to De Havilland on the edge of the box and the midfielder with a perfectly controlled shot beat Ashmore to put the home side into the lead and send the home fans into raptures.
There was just enough time for Wood to kick off and win a throw in before the referee brought proceedings to a halt and three more valuable points for the Bees as they cemented a play-off place to end 2022.
A stunning way to win the game, overall the home side deserved it, Wood looked a little shorn on confidence with only two wins in their last ten league outings, contrast that with Barnet having won five in a row for the first time since 2018 and only two defeats in their last ten in all competitions.
A far cry from a few months ago, six months ago, even twelve, it’s a much different Barnet FC these days and still much more to come I believe, more of which you can read on ‘So you won’t believe what happened at Barnet FC’ hosted at https://trevorknell.substack.com.
Momentum is really building at The Hive and now for the second half of the season the challenge is there to maintain that play-off position, one game at a time and with FA Trophy glory to go after as well.
The refereeing performance isn’t going to escape criticism. You know I don’t tend to offer much in the way of views but Mr Middleton was the worst of the season so far at any level, in my opinion how to embarrass yourself in front of the BT Sport cameras for all to see.
He was awful for both sides, that Fyfield foul was the first he got wrong and then proceeded to give some very baffling decisions, Ilesanmi was unlucky to get his second yellow, possibly given because the ref let him get away with another foul a few minutes earlier, he set a rod for his own back in that 6th minute which ended up with the flashpoint resulting in the two red cards, needless.
If you watch the winning goal clip above, he was almost in the way due to his poor positioning, pretty much summed up his game, clueless and inept, I hope I don’t view him again anywhere else this year.
Danny Collinge my man of the match, assured, controlled and like De Havilland good futures ahead for both, it’s strange in a way seeing a side with assets now compared to the dribs and drabs we were signing two and a half years ago.
So, that’s a wrap for Barnet FC in 2022, a couple more blogs from me including the Friday Freebie and that will be a wrap in 2022 for www.footballwriting.co.uk.
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