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Carling League Cup By Gerard Butler Barnet bounced back from recent league disappointments with a superb performance in defence and attack against Plymouth Argyle's cosmopolitan line-up. This saw seven changes from their 1-0 home win against Burnley, but still contained key players such as legendary Nigerian international defender Taribo West, and Tony Capaldi, the Northern Ireland left back, who featured in the win over England. The Bees made three changes from the 1-0 loss at Wycombe Wanderers, as Ross Flitney made way for Scott Tynan in goal, and Louie Soares came in with Ben Strevens for Ben Bowditch and Richard Graham in a switch to 4-4-2. A lively start set the tone for an entertaining encounter, and after four minutes Nicky Bailey's driven cross set up Dean Sinclair for a bullet header which went wide, before impressive Hungarian midfielder Akos Buzsaky collected the ball 25 yards out but volleyed over. On seven minutes, Tynan made a smart stop when unsighted from a 30 yard free-kick by Capaldi, and it was an important save, as Barnet took the lead through an excellent goal from Simon King. Soares played a corner short to Sinclair on the right, whose cross was met powerfully by King on the volley from the edge of the area. Amazingly, he could have made it 2-0 less than a minute later, as his header looped over the bar from Bailey's free-kick. Celebrations were cut short after 19 minutes when Buzsaky fired an impressive 30 yard free-kick into the top left hand corner, but the game remained excitingly open as both sides committed to attack. Dwane Lee set up Grazioli for an angled chip which just cleared the far post, but it needed an inspired save from Tynan to prevent the Bees going behind after 22 minutes as he tipped Scott Taylor's volley over the bar. Playing down the hill, Plymouth continued their incisive raids down the hill at pace, Njarni Gudjonsson, Matt Derbyshire and Nick Chadwick particularly caught the eye, but there was good attacking play in midfield by the Bees as well, through Bialey, Lee and Sinclair. Bailey picked out Soares with a neat crossfield pass but he fired well over from 25 yards, and with the half drawing to a close, Bailey struck the underside of the crossbar with an angled chip, but Tynan needed to be alert in first half stoppage time to block a downward header by Derbyshire. Second Half Once again, Grazioli raced out of the blocks for the crucial goal, as it took just 21 seconds for him to put the Bees in front, as he burst past a static defence and chipped the ball past the advancing keeper. However, this was still plenty of work to be done as Derbyshire nodded a Chadwick cross past the post on 53 minutes, but, at the same time, there were plenty of opportunities for Barnet to extend their lead as well. Sinclair raced down the left on the hour but was denied by a smart stop from Luke McCormick before Grazioli hesitated in the area and a chance went begging, probably as he expected an offside flag. Argyle always looked capable of equalising, although at times, their slick approach play was let down by poor finishing; on the hour Gudjonsson burst forward but put his drive wide. However, they nearly went further behind through an error in defence as a misplaced Mathias K. Doumbe clearance fell straight to Soares, who weaved into the area but fired just wide, but Buzsaky threatened with another testing free-kick from the flank. Bojan Djordjic replaced Scott Taylor for the visitors in the last 20 minutes, but it was the Bees who had much the better of the closing stages. Sinclair put Ben Strevens through in the 72nd minute, although he was denied by a goal-saving tackle from Doumbe. Despite their domination, there was still a bit of luck for the hosts as Buzsaky's fierce strike from the edge of the box beat Tynan but not the underside of the crossbar. Barnet had plenty of chances to wrap it up, with Bailey and Sinclair twice combining to good effect, but the latter just failing to convert, and entering the last seven minutes, Tynan kicked a clearance straight to the lurking Derbyshire, 20 yards out, but his return effort cleared the crossbar. Derbyshire and Chadwick had further late chances, but the Barnet keeper saved well, and there was nearly a third home goal when Ian Hendon's cross almost saw Anthony Barness concede an own goal. So, a night to remember and return to winning ways for the impressive Bees. Although adjusted from their last league game, Plymouth Argyle still fielded a talented side, and any win against a Championship side is one to be savoured. You'd probably have got quite long odds on Barnet being in the competition longer than Tottenham Hotspur, but their attacking display and perseverance meant this win was fully deserved. Bring on the Arsenal! Bookings Barnet N Bailey (19) Plymouth None Ref: R Olivier Teams Barnet S Tynan, I Hendon, S King, A Charles, D Batt, B Strevens, N Bailey, D Sinclair, D Lee, L Soares (78 B Bowditch) , G Grazioli (90 J Norville) Unused subs: R Flitney, A Gross, L Roache Plymouth L McCormick, A Barness, T West, M Doumbe, T Capaldi, B Gudjonsson, K Lasley (81 L Summerfield) , A Buzsaky, M Derbyshire, N Chadwick, S Taylor (69 B Djordjic) Subs: R Larrieu, N Mendes, M Martin Match Stats Possession: Shots: Corners: Fouls: Bookings: Other Reports Barnet Plymouth Independent If you know of any reports please email me the link on info@bfcsa.co.uk Want to write Match Reports? If you are interested in writing match reports for bfcsa.co.uk then click here for more information. |
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