Nationwide Conference
25 November 2003

By James Hall

Jimmy Kelly's superb free kick denied Barnet a place at the summit of the Nationwide Conference. Kelly's sweet free kick with 5 minutes remaining denied Martin Allen's men all three points after they missed a cluster of second half chances.

On a dark damp night at the McCain stadium, Scarborough started the brighter of the two sides and were unlucky not to have been ahead at the break.

Both sides wasted good early chances from set plays before the seasider's took the game to Barnet. Karl Rose's neat run and cross found Ashley Lyth in the box. Lyth saw his shot beat Gore only for Ian Hendon to clear off of the line. Scott Kerr then wasted a good opportunity when he found himself with time and space in the box, but his low drive went straight at the in-form Gore.

Minutes later Gore found himself helpless in the Bees' goal. Peter Beadle had just headed over Barnet's first real chance when Scarborough broke. Joe Gamble was adjudged to have fouled Rose. From the resulting free kick, Lyth picked out Matt Redmile who sent a looping header over Shane Gore from 10 yards out.

Barnet's reply was almost instant. Hendon's long cross from his own half picked out teenager Ismail Yakubu who out-jumped his marker to beat Walker at his near post from 16 yards.

Second half

The second half started slowly, with both teams giving away very little. Then on the hour mark the game sprung into life. Ben Strevens replaced Mark Williams and his sharp first time ball found the superb Yakubu. Yakubu beat his marker with his first touch and raced clear into the box only to be hauled down by Lyth. The referee pointed straight to the spot and Hendon dispatched the penalty with venom.

This appeared to wake the Bees' up with Strevens at the heart of several moves. His through ball sent Yakubu one on one with Walker, but he could only send his shot straight at Walker. Then followed a sustained period of pressure. Four consecutive corners culminated in Hatch, who had replaced Beadle shaving the bar.

It was then Hendon's chance to go close. The veteran's storming run and 25 yard shot brought the best out of Leigh Walker. From the resultant corner Liam Hatch saw his header stabbed off of the Boro' line.

Barnet were the made to rue their flurry of missed opportunities. Redmile's hopeful long ball forward looked to find Gill who was fouled by Danny Maddix' clumsy challenge. Kelly sent the following free kick low and hard through a very weak Barnet wall to leave Gore with no chance.

Boro' found themselves on the back foot for the final 5 minutes as Barnet pushed for all three points. Streven's speedy run and pull back cross found Gamble unmarked on the edge of the seasider's box. He's fierce drive cannoned off the crossbar and Hatch was adjudged to be offside from the rebound.

In stoppage time Grazioli turned has marker and found Yakubu in space in the box, but his first touch eluded him for the first time in the game at the most crucial of moments.

Man of the Match

Ismail Yakubu- Outstanding; won every tackle and posed a constant threat to the boro' defence.

Bookings

Barnet

D.Maddix, 43, unsporting behaviour
S.King, 79, timewasting
C.Plummer, 85, unsporting behaviour

Scarborough

K.Rose, 45, unsporting behaviour
M.Hotte, 89, unsporting behaviour

Referee: Bramley, P

Teams

Barnet

S.Gore, I.Hendon, S.King, C.Plummer, M.Rooney, D.Maddix, J.Gamble, I.Yakabu, M.Williams (B.Strevens 56), G.Grazioli, P.Beadle (L.Hatch 67)

Unused substitutes: L.Hogg, T.Taggart, R.Millard

Scarborough

L.Walker, M.Redmile, M.Hotte, A.Lyth, J.Kelly, C.Cryan, C.Marcelle, S.Kerr, J.Williams (C.Senior 60), W.Gill, K.Rose (K.Gilroy 68)

Unused substitutes: A.Sollitt, C.Batchelor, M.Price

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