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Stalemate
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Remaining unbeaten, but no longer perfect, at home…
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By:
Max Bygraves
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10/11/2024
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This article has been viewed 370 times.
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A 5:30pm kick off feels odd for a Barnet game. A disorientating sort of Saturday. In my late teens/early twenties I know exactly how I’d have filled the extra time, but life is a little different these days. Very strange leaving in the dark and listening to the Sports Report music on 5Live en route to a match.
In the event, I was very pushed for time on arrival and picked up the pace to try and make kick off. I was amazed as I came out of Tenby Road that I could actually hear the floating noise of a football crowd in the night air. I can’t remember that ever before at The Hive - though maybe I’ve not been that late before. Not against a proper opposition, anyway. Without wising to be negative, I’m pretty sure it was the northern contingent that could be heard.
I made it just in time for the extended remembrance event on the pitch prior to the start (initially looking on from the car park) and was able to be in my seat for kick off. It hadn’t occurred to me until the day before when looking at the table how significant a fixture this was for our visitors too. Feels like they’ve sneakily got themselves in the mix after a couple of years of very much flattering to deceive. The stage very much felt set.
The opening exchanges were played at a decent tempo and were fairly even. Neither side offered too much. It was pleasing to see Fondop not involved for them after the terror he caused in this game last year. Norwood always worries me though. Without cause in this one thankfully, but you really feel he’s above this level.
Proper chances were at a real premium in the first half - although we had a proper, proper one about halfway through. Bailey Hobson was put through in the box and had a guilt edge opportunity which he scuffed at the goalkeeper. A huge waste from a player who has been so impressive thus far.
0-0 at half time, having been the better side overall, but there wasn’t much to note. The bar at half time didn’t feel as busy as it might have for a 2000+ crowd. This of course swelled by a very impressive 609 travelling from the North West. In our end, it felt like a lot of familiar faces were missing this one, though given the numbers, maybe those in attendance largely did well in encouraging friends to come along with the excellent new ticket offer. Half price for someone to come with a season ticket holder is a great deal. Fair play to the club for offering this for a sustained period. Maybe we’ll hook in a few? Worth a try, anyway.
The second half started with what looked like a half reasonable shout for a penalty for a push on Glover, but no interest from the ref. Oldham were sort of what you’d expect a type like Oldham to be. Big northern shithouses. Stereotypes are there for a reason, I suppose. Over the course of the ninety minutes, they looked fairly ordinary in all areas. Particularly in the second half, the Latics posed very little threat.
It wasn’t a bad second half but it was a frustrating watch. Idris Kanu, playing wide right rather than left, had a particularly notable showing in these stakes. I did chuckle at a “50p foot as well as head” comment after several mis-hit crosses and also a close range header went wrong. I get the feeling the header looked an even better chance on the tv than live. Kanu did his tracking back and defensive duties well but not a night for much end product. If you asked AI to produce a Barnet winger with all the typical ingredients, Idris Kanu would likely be what it would generate.
Ben Coker had the ball in the net with just over twenty minutes left but this was ruled out for offside. As we went into the final quarter, we very much were the only team who looked like scoring. Much dominance of the ball, but still lacking the quality of that final one.
What was confusing was our lack of action on the bench. Oldham made a triple switch just after the hour but it wasn’t until later that we finally switched things up. Rhys Browne made a welcome return and showed his quality. Joe Grimwood also replaced Danny Collinge. It was brilliant to see Collinge back out there again - his second half showing particularly strong. Let’s hope he can continue to build fitness and stay injury free.
What was difficult to fathom was why Calum Stead was named on the bench but only introduced on 92 minutes. If he was fit enough to be on the bench, surely he could have managed more than this? Leave him out, otherwise. Even getting Cropper on as a different sort of outlet would have been an option given the largely ineffective performances in our wide areas. It didn’t feel there was a huge sense of urgency to push for the win.
With ten minutes left, Anthony Hartigan did a very un-Hartigan like thing and hit a shot from outside the box. It didn’t half move and thundered off the crossbar. It would have been a fine way to break the deadlock. Try this more, I say.
Browne also had a well struck effort stopped and Glover was to have a half chance from a stretching diving header he couldn’t quite reach, but it wasn’t to be. The visitors never looked like scoring and the game ended in a stalemate. Our first game we haven’t won at home this season.
That last sentence is quite helpful for a bit of perspective on the feeling after a 0-0 at home to another side chasing promotion. However, it felt to me like we could have done more to win the game. We’ve been a lot less conservative than we were at times in games where we needed to be and weren’t. It felt like we were content not to lose and settle for a point - which in the context of the game, seemed a touch off. We were a lot better than Oldham and should have thrown more at extending that perfect home start.
There is definitely a bit of a change of feeling to where we were three weeks ago. Now four points off the top in third spot. It can change and this can happen fairly quickly - but from feeling like this being a special season could be an almost foregone conclusion in mid October, there is definitely a sense of trepidation as we enter the winter months. Expectations and hopes have been set high. We’d all rather it be that way. Hopefully a productive few weeks ahead can re-inject that feel good factor and get us back on top.
Dagenham hasn’t traditionally been the happiest of hunting grounds as we look to next Saturday. Let’s hope we can summon the spirits of Beadle, Hooper and Richards and recreate a rare victory in Essex as those names helped us last do in the grim, online streamed Covid times of the Autumn of 2020…
Footnote: Next Friday (15th) sees the second edition of the Bring Barnet Back Pub Quiz at The Railway Tavern in New Barnet. The first event in the summer was a great night. Please follow the link below to sign up as an individual or a team. Confirmed teams so far include one featuring Giuliano Grazioli and another comprising of five members of the current management team, including assistant Connor Smith. Get involved!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_uQ7FRtzQe3dYg_J9cvEhiVbEu3Qhcila2xCWILfEHkRWeA/viewform
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