Martin Allen has returned to Barnet FC for a fifth spell in charge to save their league status
It was an emotional day at the Hive in Canons Park, NW London, as Barnet fought to the last drop of sweat to lift themselves off the bottom of the English League.
An Alex Nicholls strike in the added minutes of the first half was the difference, at least on paper, between the home side and visitors Forest Green Rovers. With the win, Barnet vaulted over Chesterfield who lost 1-0 at Grimsby; themselves embroiled in the struggle to avoid the drop. But two sides will lose their league status, and there is still much for Allen to achieve.
It was a grueling afternoon for the 1764 fans in attendance, a commendable 225 of whom had traveled from Forest Green’s Gloucestershire home. No-one would claim there was quality football on show with nerves a significant factor both on and odd the pitch.
However the announcement of seven minutes of added time at the end of the second half stretched nerves to their fullest sinew, with Barnet knowing the concession of any late equaliser would practically ensure too high a mountain to climb to leave the bottom two relegation slots and save their status.
By then, the green hiliter pen shirts of the visitors were pounding the Barnet amber line further and further back. They had perhaps player quality marginally in their favour but with only two points out of the last 36 away from home, confidence was cripplingly short. Despite that, they received great vocal backing from their fans.
Forest Green Rovers fans arrive to see their team and gave great support on the day
The biggest palpable difference between the sides though was less quality or confidence but the sheer hunger of the Barnet players, motivated by head coach Martin Allen, starting his fifth spell at the club. He yelled, shouted, coerced and encouraged his players in an entertaining and occasionally expletive dotted monologue throughout and his passion for his task was evident.
He wasn’t humourless though. At one stage, Forest Green keeper Bradley Collins was alone in his half as he prepared to fire a free kick high up field. With every outfielder deep in the Barnet half, Allen’s side faced another potential bombardment. He gave Collins his best advice in the hope Collins would avoid putting Barnet under further siege:
“See that steward in the yellow jacket? Put it on his f****ing head!” cried Allen.
And he did!
After the match he was emotional in describing his connection to the Barnet FC.
The sheer scale of his task is apparent from the league table (below).
There is some hope for the Bees in the schedule because they have Grimsby, Chesterfield and fifth bottom Morecambe still to come. Having beaten one of their close rivals on Saturday, they will need to repeat that three times more. To add to the intrigue, Forest Green host both Chesterfield and eventually Grimsby on what will be a tense last day.
On that day, the bottom four will just like yesterday be playing each other and the aim of all four sides will be to have their fate in their own hands at worst by May 5th.
League 2 Bottom 4 of Table
| 21 |
 |
Grimsby Town | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | -29 | 41 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 |
 |
Forest Green Rovers | 41 | 11 | 7 | 23 | -22 | 40 |
| 23 |
 |
Barnet | 42 | 9 | 9 | 24 | -25 | 36 |
| 24 |
 |
Chesterfield | 39 | 9 | 7 | 23 | -28 | 34 |
Barnet are an interesting club beyond their current struggle. Shrewd readers will know that Canons Park is nowhere near the London Borough of Barnet which lies further east. They left their Underhill Stadium in Barnet in April 2013 and made the move into a part of London with no rival league clubs nearby. Wembley Stadium is three stops away on the Jubilee Line and Watford further to the north.
In later pieces, we’ll look at what Barnet fans and employees say about the move. Forest Green Rovers are also an interesting club. They play in Nailsmith in Gloucestershire which means their matches are in the smallest town ever to host a football league club.
Their chairman Dale Vince is a pronounced vegan and the club made headlines by only serving vegan food at the stadium. We hope to procure an interview with Dale soon.
