It’s not often I get to watch Barnet on a Tuesday night and be home before midnight such is the journey to The Hive, there are something like nine or ten away matches this season that would get home quicker than a trip to Harrow.
Dorking Wanderers Meadowbank Stadium was the venue, a first trip for most Barnet fans but a third for me after a visit two years ago and one this season when they hosted York City.
Both sides needed the point for differing reasons, a play-off charge for the Bees and relegation fighting for the Wanderers almost ensured that it was unlikely to finish 0-0.
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A cold evening in Surrey with the boys Gaz and Steve, the visitors missing Dale Gorman and Danny Collinge made light work of it in the opening minutes and hit the bar ten minutes in through Nicke Kabamba.
Two minutes later the Bees were in front, Idris Kanu crossing from the left hand side and Harry Smith with a superb looping header from the edge of the box over the head of Dan Lincoln and dropping under the bar.
From there on in Dorking grew into the game and had the better of the opportunities, Laurie Walker the busier of the two keepers by far and the Barnet backline able to deal with pretty much everything coming their way into the box.
However, four minutes before half time the home side got the equaliser. No pressure put on the ball in midfield from Barnet saw a through ball slotted through to Josh Taylor and despite a hint of offside slotted the ball past Walker to send the sides in level at half time.
The Bees certainly hadn’t gone through the gears in the first half and the within the first five minutes of the second it looked as if those gears would get extended.
But just as it looked like Barnet would power their way through the half, the home side went in front 11 minutes into the half, a peach of a strike from former Bee loanee George Francomb gave Walker no chance and the visitors now chasing the game.
Despite a couple of changes made by Dean Brennan to try and alter the course of play, chances weren’t forthcoming at all, Courtney Senior with a shot straight at Lincoln the best they could muster and despite a melee in the Dorking box with bodies blocking shots Barnet didn’t find a way through and the points stayed in Surrey to help the Dorking survival bid.
A frustrating night after such a good performance a few days earlier at Southend and it’s a difficult one to critique. Over the past few losses there were chances to win about three games in each one but a huge lack of creation this time around.
A few star performers were underused on the night, questions asked if two up front is really working out for us, a big conundrum when Smith has come in and notched seven in eight games while Kabamba has 17 for the season but struggling to find the net in the big man’s presence.
The back four didn’t play badly considering all four were left footed and a little makeshift, midfield is where we seemed to lose all idea, Harry Pritchard deployed as the defensive midfielder in the absence of Gorman stifled his performance, Kanu not seeing enough of ball and a lack of understanding of what and where Marvin Armstrong was due to be.
The reason it’s difficult is because we’re still very much in the play-off places and still very much ahead of where nearly all of us expected to be 12 months ago despite five losses in the last seven games.
Another big game this weekend with a trip to Maidstone in the FA Trophy, now just 180 minutes from Wembley in this competition, the season is far from over but a few more wins needed in both competitions to ensure it doesn’t fizzle out before we reach April.
