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Coca Cola League Two Captain Leary guides Bees to three points By Andrew Taylor Barnet got a well-deserved three points at the Fraser Eagle stadium this afternoon after a strong and professional performance from the outset. Paul Fairclough made four changes from the mid week defeat against Rochdale with Akurang, Gillet, Wright and perhaps most surprisingly Ashley Carew coming in at right back and Parkes, Nicolau, Porter and Thomas missing out. The Bees started brightly and despite a very strong and bitterly cold wind which was in their favour in the first half, making passing and any type of quality build up play almost impossible, it was captain Leary and the midfield duo of Neal Bishop and Josh Wright who were making good early impressions on the game. The first chances came Barnet's way firstly from a Jason Puncheon free kick from 20 yards which crashed against the inside of the post, then from a similar position it was Josh Wrights turn from a free kick, this time going inches wide of Stanley's right hand post. Accrington offered little if anything in the way of attacking opportunities the occasional wind affected cross came into the Barnet area but keeper Lee Harrison was up to the task and it was the team in their changed strip of blue and white who continued to press, Adam Birchall missed the target with a shot from 20 yards and then Cliff Akurang blazed over from outside the area, Akurang was involved in a controversial incident towards the end of the first half, he clashed with Stanley's Jay Harris, many seeming to think Harris had lashed out at Akurang, a reaction followed from the Barnet striker and they were both booked for their troubles. The referee blew for the end of a half where Barnet had totally dominated and only lacked a goal for their efforts that would surely come if the same pressure followed in the second half. Half Time: Accrington Stanley 0-0 Barnet The second half started very much as the first had ended, this time the Bees had the wind against them and many attempted long balls were being held up which seemed to favour Birchall who was causing his usual mischief for his opponents and was making endless runs down each channel, and it was from one of those runs which led to Barnet's first goal that had been a long time coming, Jason Puncheon was clear down the left flank and crossed to find Birchall on the edge of the box, Birchall's shot was blocked but the rebound fell to him and he put in a cross into the penalty area that found Neal Bishop two yards out to head home, just his second goal for the Bees. It was great persistence by Birchall that led to the goal and it was perhaps an unlikely candidate to be there to head home, Barnet finally had the lead that they deserved. Minutes later Barnet received their second yellow card of the game, as Ashley Carew, who was growing in confidence as the match wore on in his unfamiliar right back role, was booked for a late challenge. Then for the following few moments Stanley began to threaten with their best opportunity of the whole game falling to Shaun Whalley he collected the ball outside the box and unleashed a drive towards goal which seemed to take a deflection off a Barnet defender and it had Lee Harrison beaten but his shot crashed off the crossbar and was eventually cleared, in the same incident whilst trying to clear Neal Bishop's afternoon turned sour as he suffered what looked a serious injury, the game was held up for around 5 minutes as a stretcher finally arrived and physio Mark Stein assessed Bishop in the changing room before he was driven to the local A&E on crutches, Bishop was replaced by Jordan Parkes who went to right back and Ashley Carew reverted to midfield. The chances still came Barnet's way though and now it was the visitors back in the ascendancy Albert Adomah skied over from ten yards, then Barnet were awarded a corner which was taken by Josh Wright, flicked on at the near post and there was skipper Michael Leary from close range to nod home a thoroughly deserved second goal, perhaps a poignant moment for Leary who has had troubles this season but he capped an assured performance with the match winner. With a two goal lead the bees temporarily sat back and individual errors could have cost them, a poor Kenny Gillet back pass caused Lee Harrison trouble in the windy conditions then more sloppy defending led to Paul Mullin going through 1 on 1 with Harrison but the keeper saved well to cap a really solid display from the shot stopper. The fourth official bizarrely displayed only 3 minutes of time added on, considering Bishop's injury was at least 5 minutes, but the contingent of Barnet fans were not complaining there were no more scares as the referee signalled the end of the game to confirm 3 points for the away team. Full Time: Accrington Stanley 0-2 Barnet It was a thoroughly professional display from Barnet particularly Lee Harrison, Michael Leary and striker Adam Birchall deserve praise for their performances, but the team as a whole bounced back well the mid week disappointment, as the player's applauded the away support as they came off the pitch manager Paul Fairclough rejoiced "It's about time we won here" he cried which led to cheers from the crowd, thoughts now turn to stopping Stockport's promotion challenge on Saturday at Underhill and also to Neal Bishop who we hope will make a quick recovery. See below for links to other reports. Bookings Barnet Akurang (unsporting
behaviour 37) Accrington Stanley Harris (unsporting
behaviour 37) Teams Barnet Harrison, Gillet, Burton, Leary, Carew, Adomah, Bishop (67 Parkes), Wright, Puncheon, Birchall, Akurang Unused substitutes: Nicolau, Grazioli, Thomas, St Aimie Accrington Stanley Arthur, Cavanagh, Webb, Edwards, Richardson, Harris, Procter (70 Todd), Craney, Grant (79 Smith), Whalley, Mullin Unused substitutes: Dunbavin, Mannix, Turner Other Reports Barnet Accrington 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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