Nationwide Conference
13 September 2003

By Callum Williams

THERE were two new faces in the Bees' line-up when they faced near-neighbours Stevenage in "the big one" at Broadhall Way on Saturday.

On-loan keeper David Forde, from West Ham, and much-travelled striker Peter Beadle joined up with the Barnet squad late last week and were soon thrust into the limelight.

Barnet were quite frankly appalling in the first half going behind after 14 minutes when Forde spilled an awkward low shot, leaving Rocky Baptiste the simple task of tapping home from close range.

The Bees failed to heed this wake-up call as Stevenage could and should have added to their goal tally with Forde redeeming for his earlier lapse by blocking well to his right from the dangerous Rob Elding.

Baptiste then rattled Barnet's crossbar with a powerful header in one of a series of frantic scrambles in the Bees' goalmouth as the visiting defence consistently struggled to clear their lines.

Second Half

Half-time could not come quick enough for the Bees, who then suffered another blow as influential skipper Ian Hendon limped out of the action to be replaced by Mark Rooney.

Barnet seemed to step up a gear in the second half and some good pressure brought an equaliser on 57 minutes when Giuliano Grazioli's effort rebounded from the Stevenage crossbar and Beadle hammered home the rebound.

Stevenage had the chance to quickly regain their advantage, but were denied by Forde's spectacular flying tip-round from Jamie Cook's 25-yard free-kick.

With skipper Hendon now among the Barnet faithful in the huge crowd behind the goal, the Bees stepped up their search for a winning goal, which came after 65 minutes.

A sustained spell of Barnet pressure ended with Mark Williams crossing for Chris Plummer to head goalwards. Home keeper Lionel Perez blocked his effort, but the predatory Grazioli followed up to bang home his ninth goal of the season, putting another dent in Stevenage boss Graham Westley's "date with destiny".

The remainder of the half saw Barnet's defence get a firm grip on the game, leaving Stevenage with few clear sights of goal.

A great result for the Bees against a Stevenage side that have now lost three games in a row.

Photos

Forty eight magnificent photos of a magnificent game.

First twenty-four
Second twenty-four

(Above is from different game - I'm not doing one of those for EVERY game! Ed)

Stats

From Press Association

Bookings

Barnet

D.Forde, 81, timewasting
P.Beadle, 90, unsporting behaviour

Stevenage Borough

None

Teams

Barnet

D.Forde, I.Hendon (M.Rooney 45), I.Yakabu, T.Taggart (B.Strevens 54), C.Plummer, D.Maddix, J.Gamble, L.Hogg, G.Grazioli, M.Williams, P.Beadle

Unused substitutes: L.Baimass, N.Sylla, R.Millard

Stevenage Borough

L.Perez, B.Laker, S.Travis, J.Goodliffe, P.Costello (G.Holloway 70), L.Flynn, D.Carroll (M.Warner 90), S.Watson, J.Cook, A.Elding (J.Richards 82), R.Baptiste

Unused substitutes: N.Abbey, M.Langston

Other Reports

Boroguide (Unofficial Stevenage)
BBC
Nationwide's Conference Site

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