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Flip The Script
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A seven day turnaround Craig David would be proud of.
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By:
Max Bygraves
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01/03/2026
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This article has been viewed 352 times.
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Try to avoid using too many cliches here but sometimes they’re just unavoidable, aren’t they? It is a funny old game and, most certainly, a week is a long time in football.
I am more than happy that my introduction to last Sunday morning’s article now looks a bit silly. Perhaps we don’t need to wait to August now for the next real excitement. A fine win at Accrington midweek followed by a thoroughly enjoyable nippy but spring-like afternoon at our temporary abode and we are very much looking upward again. How fickle it all can be really is to celebrated and enjoyed for me. It would be boring to just always think reasonably.
The build up to today’s game saw quite a lot of reaction to the published FA transcript detailing the reasons for our manager’s nine game touchline ban. It’s no surprise it’s a talking point given the length of the punishment. Like anyone other than those who were on the touchline that day, I don’t know what was actually said. My take, whether it was what he’s accused of saying or what he said he commented is that the whole thing was pretty avoidable. Why muse to the fourth official about cross-gender football during a game? The whole thing is very bizarre. It’s a dubious subject area to bring up and is all a little strange anyway.
We’ve got some insight into the management team’s pre matching meeting discussions, at least. Life in The Barnet Office. Will there ever be a boy born that can swim faster than a shark?
Anyway, back to the real issue at hand and a big game against a team I can only ever refer to as the “Spireite BASTUDS,” on account of a very good friend supporting Mansfield Town.
It was an unusually early arrival time to the vicinity of The Hive on this occasion. Another family affair this week; my dad joining along with my uncle for his first ever Barnet game and a friend with only one prior visit. A very civilised pre match experience sampling Melissa’s Restaurant next to Canons Park tube station for the first time. Having heard good things, we weren’t disappointed. A pre-match mixed iskender was a new approach to proceedings but turns out it’s not to be whacked.
In our seats in good time, there was definitely a sense of big game anticipation ahead of kick off. Not a feeling I was expecting when waiting for the AA in that dark car park at Colchester last Saturday evening.
It appeared we may have won the coin toss ahead of kick off as for the first time in ages, the teams switched ends. I only assume this was us as it meant Chesterfield weren’t shooting towards their fans for the second half. Brennan has mentioned before about the fact that we don’t have anyone to ‘suck the ball in’ behind the goal. That’s my logic anyway, any factual information on this more than welcomed.
Chesterfield started the brighter and it would be fair to say they controlled the game for much of the first half. An early chance gifted to Liam Mandeville thankfully wasn’t taken and after that Slicker wasn’t forced to do much but they looked perhaps the more likely.
However, we grew into the game as the half progressed and began to cause our visitors a few issues. Not long before the break, Tshimanga had a chance not too unlike the one that led to Tuesday night’s winner but after some pressure from the defender, was unable to apply the same composure. Brennan’s apoplectic response to this from behind the big window of the director’s lounge was amusing. He was a pretty good watch throughout, particularly the animated phone calls. I think someone needs to show him how to use hands free to allow full double arm animation.
Just before half time, Danny Collinge, who had a particularly excellent game even by his consistently high standards, struck the bar from close range. By the time the whistle blew, we were the ones asking the more meaningful questions.
Currently having a period of not sampling the beers at The Hive or elsewhere but the report from those in our row that did was that after the easy breezy scenario of the last home game, it was back to a shambles today. Long queues, the pre-pour system in all kinds of disarray. We’re being told to spend as much as we can at the ground to help fund the team but it’s still proving a challenge for people to give the club their money.
From the off in the second forty five, we played with real purpose. An early half chance for Stead (great to have him back - how I’ve missed seeing our number 10 make good sliding tackles in our half) from a corner was a sign of things to come. We looked all of a sudden a lot more confident.
There’s no pleasure in calling out players for playing badly so it’s pleasing to write that despite reservations at 3pm, Winterburn and Jaiyesimi both hugely stepped up. Winterburn has been a bit of a puzzle from the off at Barnet. Jaiyesimi clearly has shown a lack of fitness. But as we began to probe for a goal, these two were heavily involved.
The fantastic strike that proved to be the match winner in the 65th minute was a thing of both beauty and surprise. The goalscorer not particularly left field but if I said to you this time last week our goal would come from: Some good work out wide by Callum Stead who laid it off to Ben Winterburn. Winterburn then played a lovely one-two with Diallang Jaiyesimi, before flicking the ball to Nnamdi Ofoborh - I’m not sure you’d have believed me.
Ofoborh touched it with one foot and then fired into the roof of the net with the other, from just inside the box. Another great hit from the big midfielder. He does not mind a decent hit one bit.
Can anyone say they’d have seen that trio combining to create the chance prior to last Sunday’s reported “internal reset?” I think not!
After this, we looked solid. Yes, as the clock ticked on the nerves started to jangle a little but this was a more assured Barnet than we’ve seen here recently. Chesterfield’s introduction of Dobra and Grigg from the bench gave some pretty traumatic reminders of that Remembrance Day visit to their place in 2023. Thankfully, neither of them were able to repeat feats from that day. Will Grigg very much not on fire. Extinguished.
We dug in and even looked like we could add a late second. A poor final ball from Chinedu in the dying minutes denied Glover a golden opportunity to clinch things. We need a Winterburn/Jaiyesimi redeeming display from the big lad sooner rather than later. Yet to quite see what he offers.
Tshimanga was taken off in stoppage time. He received some boos from his former fans in the away end and a deserved ovation from ours. He may not have sniffed another goal in this one but his work rate was tireless. A truly selfless shift. Him and Stead together a promising looking prospect for the final quarter of the campaign.
A real roar of relief and real joy as the referee’s whistle finally sounded over the many supporter versions after the allotted time was up. This was a big win. How enjoyable to optimistically hear the first airing for a long time of last year’s ’Bees are going up ole ole!’
We find ourselves in 9th place, two points off 7th with our next match against that side, Salford City. It’s a crowded picture with four points separating 6-11th. Colchester looking way off it down in 12th is another thing that wouldn’t have seemed possible just a week ago. With the top five comfortably clear, you’d say those two final spots are between seven teams with some having games in hand. What’s not in our favour is having played the most games. Based on everyone’s inconsistency however, maybe the old adage about points on the board is true here.
I love those Saturday evenings where the buzz of a really satisfying win takes you right through to bedtime. Via watching the 30 seconds of highlights on ITV4 even though you can now grab it on demand anytime, anywhere. There’s something more special about it being our turn on the tele. Nice being in the Football League and wanting to see our highlights, isn’t it?
Pleasingly, Salford was booked up as our second longer distance away day trip of the season with some of the usual suspects a while back. The 12.30 kick off is a bit of a pain, but here’s hoping for a giddy and excitable afternoon in Manchester sat in the top 7.
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