Of necessity no great changes in personnel, although it was good to see Igoe back and fit enough to play ninety minutes, and a relief that Jalal was between the posts after hearing some of the accounts of his stand-in’s performance.
The first half started with Bournemouth kicking up the hill, and an uphill struggle was what ensued. Completely outplayed for most of the half by a Barnet team continually gifted possession by our misfiring midfield, we could and probably should have been out of the game long before the interval. As it was Barnet took the lead in the fifteenth minute, Jalal making a good block after the defence had been cut apart by some neat passing only to see the ball driven back by John O’Flynn. Cummings appeared to have cleared the ball off the line but a goal was awarded. Arguably the game should have been stopped long before this as Garry was on the ground bleeding profusely from a broken nose acquired earlier in the move, which somehow didn’t constitute a head injury in the eyes of the referee.
When play resumed after a lengthy stoppage for Garry to receive treatment it was more of the same Barnet pressure. Almost half an hour elapsed before Bournemouth managed a meaningful attempt on goal, and Jalal was soon back in action with a save at close range. The only encouraging sign was that Feeney, who had been switched to the left early in the proceedings, clearly had the beating of the full-back for pace on the unfortunately rare occasions when we were able to get the ball to him.
Just as we were thinking how lucky we were to be getting to half time only one down, the old cliché about the importance of capitalising on your periods of domination in games was hammered home one more time. Feeney scooted past his man down the left and crossed from the goal line, and a defensive header dropped nicely to Pitman on the edge of the area who drove a precise half-volley wide of the keeper. Not for Brett the mundane six yard tap-ins that are the bread and butter for most goalscorers. Completely against the run of play, but who’s complaining?
Fletcher replaced Connell for the second half, and the team certainly appeared to relish playing with the slope and put in a far more acceptable level of performance, dominating the game for long spells.
Both sides were showed positive intent and chances came at both ends without either keeper being seriously worked until Bradbury struck an excellent long range effort that Cole did extremely well to tip over the bar. Eventually pressure told, a Barnet defender misplaced a back pass, Pitman beat Cole to the ball and was brought down by the keeper’s challenge. Dubiously, Referee Wright took the view that this wasn’t a goalscoring opportunity and opted for a yellow card – fair enough if it was Fletch maybe, but I’m not sure what he thought Pitman was going to do next other than attempt to score – this is a man who, after all, sees taking a corner as a goalscoring opportunity. Pitman took the penalty himself and opted for power, having failed with placement on his previous attempt. Unfortunately the result was the same and Cole saved. More chances for both sides in the closing stages, but the goals that this entertaining game perhaps deserved did not come.
Probably a fair result over the ninety minutes, and although Rochdale move above us with another impressive away win, the rest of the chasing pack remain consistently inconsistent and we are still handily placed in the promotion places, especially if we can get the home form back on track with a win on Saturday.
Shwan Jalal
AFCB: Jalal, Bradbury, Garry, Pearce, Cummings, Feeney, Igoe, Hollands, Robinson, Connell, Pitman
Subs: Thomas, Bartley, Partington, Goulding, Fletcher (on for Connell, HT), McQuoid (for Feeney, 89)
Richie Barker, Leyton