You don’t support Barnet for the glory. You become very quickly accustomed to disappointment. Sometimes, it stings, though. That was nowhere near good enough.
Whatever your thoughts on the FA Trophy, once you get two games from the big one, it can only be treated seriously. No point in going all guns blazing against Welling if that isn’t the thought process.
This was the toughest possible draw but given the context of our current league position and run in to follow, I’m struggling to place a bigger fixture left in the regular season. The rationale for the way the afternoon panned out leaves more questions than answers.
The worry on faces in the tightly packed Cork & Cask pub near the ground when the team news was shared was widespread. Was this going to be another Gateshead? He couldn’t, could he? Had lessons not been learnt?
Before we go any further, Dean Brennan has been hailed here many times. Alluded to as a “genius,” on at least one occasion this season. He has had a huge impact on Barnet Football Club, since picking the club up in the wake of an abject display at (coincidentally) Bromley in September 2021. He has done amazing things - but also has to be accountable when it doesn’t work.
Whether or not he feels he needs to acknowledge it - this one was a low point in his time as manager.
Injuries led to a more than makeshift back-line taking the field against strong opposition, but choices in other areas were more than questionable.
Courtney Senior brought in from the bitter cold of fruitless loans at Yeovil and Hartlepool to start in one of our most crucial games of the season was bizarre. The strangeness of this decision amplified at the break when was withdrawn for Kabamba. The Bees number 9 entering the fray after the interval as at Gateshead last April. The worst of deja vus.
We’ve skipped ahead here from an abject first half. Optimism from the travelling masses seemed to fall off from the moment many of us were stood queueing in the car park until well past kick off time.
An early home roar indicated the hosts had taken a 1-0 lead. I’ve not seen the goal yet to comment - but it was undoubtedly a massive blow and seemed to dictate the trajectory for much of the afternoon.
Barnet offered nothing. Aside from the odd set piece or thrown in towards their goal, there was little to be enthused by. It was a flat first half but we were still in it.
As alluded to already, Kabamba was introduced at the interval but this did not lead in any upturn in our fortunes. We were devoid of ideas and never looked like scoring.
Whilst Bromley’s second with twenty left was a sucker punch, in some ways it at least ruled out the overly optimistic idea of us getting back into it. We could still be playing now and the score would read Barnet nil.
Josh Keeley came in for some divisive flack after letting the second in. There wasn’t a lot of movement from the Spurs younger star, though to lay the blame solely at his door would be unfair.
However, the issues myself and presumably some others have is that circumstantially we’ve lost the majority of the spine of our team to injuries over the past few months. The strong link and leader in that position’s role was needlessly removed and results will tell you it hasn’t led to an improvement. If it ain’t broke, don’t try and fix it.
I have no interest in debating with armchair Pep Guardiola’s about how this goalkeeper plays with his feet and suits us. We are playing non-league football. It’s not as technical and finessed as we maybe would like it to be. The team looked more assured and together with Laurie Walker in goal and this reckless decision to upset the apple cart ultimately hasn’t worked how it was hoped. Josh Keeley may go on to have a very decent career in the game, but he does not have the presence, authority or leadership (at this time) that a makeshift defence like today needs to be marshalled by.
The second half was a tough watch. We weren’t in the game. Introductions of familiar faces from the bench had little to no impact and we ultimately, went out without a whimper.
Another one to add to the miserable catalogue of Wembley shoulda, coulda, wouldas. Maybe one day. Maybe this May.
There needs to be maximum positivity around the club as a wider body at the moment as we hopefully begin our paramount journey home to Barnet. However, we go to watch a team hopefully win football matches and when it’s disappointing, we can’t pretend it’s not.
Brennan choosing to not acknowledge the largely dispersed away end at full time was a shame. The rough has to be taken with the smooth and popularity should not mean an absence of accountability. I found myself rooted to the spot not sure why I was still there, but would have appreciated some acknowledgment for my time. I really owe my mother-in-law for having the kids this afternoon - not the best use of such a favour, it turned out!
Our record on the big occasion since the Brennan revival has been more than underwhelming. I hope he’s saving it for a big two fingered told you so in the playoff final. I’m all for it. Here’s hoping.
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