I must have about nine or ten away games that are closer to get to than The Hive, Grosvenor Vale the home of Wealdstone FC is one of them, not often though I do a Barnet away game on a Saturday afternoon.
Billed as ‘Derby Day’, more so for the home support and the purpose of social media, despite the fact the distance between the two clubs is small, not something I class as a rival to be honest, just another league game with three points at stake.
There is however some needle between the fanbases but I’m not wasting time here with the clowns, happy to engage with that elsewhere but not for this blog piece at the very least.
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The odd concern in the 24/48 hours to kick off that water may well cause a postponement; no such luck and the game went ahead in front of the BT Sport cameras on Non League Day.
Stones were certainly quicker out of the blocks, enjoying the majority of possession all over the pitch and looking dangerous down the flanks and into Corie Andrews in the middle of the front line giving Finley Potter a torrid time, changes were made and the game calmed down a little.
Best chance of the first half for the home side saw Lewis Simper beat Laurie Walker but not the crossbar the ball not falling back at the feet of a home player however, for the visitors Idris Kanu had a glorious chance at the back post but skewed his shot way over the bar, a lack of composure in keeping with the Bees first half performance.
Dale Gorman almost caught out Stones’ Sam Howes just before the interval, a quick free kick saw the stopper off his line but recovered suitably to tip the ball over the bar, moments earlier a Bees corner had bounced off the far post helped by the wind but no final touch could be applied for an opener.
For all their ball retention though Wealdstone’s creation of actual chances was poor in ratio, the sides going in at half time level, neither really doing enough to warrant the lead.
The second half however was a different story, the half time talk did it’s trick. Within a minute Barnet had the lead. A misjudged ball from the Stones defender sent Nicke Kabamba away, composed himself, cutting back inside two Stones players, super touch and sent the ball fizzing past Howes for the opener.
Wealdstone cut quite a forlorn figure throughout the half, the Bees seemingly in their stride but needing the security of a second goal which duly arrived with 16 minutes to play.
A corner only cleared to the edge of the box, header won by Gorman with the ball dropping into the penalty area, Harry Pritchard turning on a sixpence and shooting past Howes into the bottom corner to put Barnet firmly in control.
Despite the appearance of a push from Bees debutant Emmanuel Fernandez late in the game, very little offered from the home side and Barnet walked away with the points having done the double over their near neighbours without conceding a goal.
A well-managed second half was the key to the win in front of yet another record crowd for the home side, Stones having no answer to the Bees level of play in the second 45.
Strong second half from Fernandez, good to see Ben Wynter back for the final 10 minutes too, the tweaking and twerking of the formation at times kept us in the game and gave the foundation to go on and win it in the second half.
More than a few unsavoury moments, flares, racism, items thrown by the home supporters, both sets of fans in a minority were not blameless but that’s for another blog if the chance arises and I’ve got time.
Top seven appear to be well away in the title and play-off chase, it’s now about positions and the let-up in games doesn’t stop with a trip to Woking on Tuesday which will have some bearing on whether 3rd place is in the thinking over the next few weeks, enjoy the ride and onto the next!
