Wow. Where do you start with that one? If all goes to plan from here, that’s a night that will be talked about as a defining moment for many years to come.
It had all the ingredients. 1st v 2nd. A bumper crowd by our standards in Harrow with an incredible 1100+ midweek away support from North Yorkshire. This is the sort of stage where we tend to let ourselves down. Not this time.
A week off work and The Wardrobe’s birthday meant what felt like a very justifiable early start for this one. Round a table in The Railway Tavern pre-5pm. There was excitement in the air. Not without a fair amount of trepidation, also. Talk quickly turned to big game disappointments of the part. Could we buck the trend, this time?
After an Uber trudge across North London from a pub that will hopefully soon be a fifteen minute walk rather than thirty minute drive to the turnstile, we were in the ground a good hour before kick off. Service in Legends at this stage was reasonable and it was enjoyable to see many a familiar face perhaps less regular at this venue as the time ticked towards kick off.
A few eyebrows were raised at the team selection pre kick off with various possible formations plotted by pint-holding experts. Legitimate concerns from previous big games of the past few seasons were thankfully needless. It soon became apparent that we needn’t have worried.
Barnet came out on the front foot and aggressive. A late change from a warm up knock led to Rhys Browne starting in place of Mark Shelton. This arguably gave us more impetus from the off - although a criminal open goal miss from Browne in the early stages left many heads in hands. On another day, it might have felt like an opportunity missed. Luckily, in this one, it was just a prelude to more chances.
Sixteen minutes in and a stretched finish from Ade Oluwo that seemed to go in in slow motion put us a goal to the good. A real roar of joy and relief. This felt like a big moment, highlighted in the players’ exuberant celebrations in front of the stand. Advantage Barnet.
No further goals were added in the rest of the first half, but we were largely left rubbing our hands and eyes in disbelief. This was not like Barnet on the big occasion. York didn’t know what to do with us. Brennan had bamboozled Hinshelwood with a change of formation and York were left scratching their heads. £350,000 worth of centre forward was summoned from the bench before half time, to little effect. York had no answer and we looked relentless.
A busy bar at the break was full of smiles. Lots of faces of slight bemusement at just how well this was going. A mix of excitement and angst. Many a justified cynic with worries of where this could go despite the start, but you couldn’t help but feel optimistic ahead of the second forty five.
Early in the second half, it really was time to be excited. A beautiful, cool finish from Lee Ndlovu made it 2-0. An outpouring of jubilation all round. No less than we deserved and now a gap York would struggle to close.
Our visitors had yet to have a shot and looked utterly shell shocked. The away end remained stood up throughout but equally stood into stunned silence at what was unfolding before them. The wind taken out of their sails from the word go. A long journey home beckoning already.
Five minutes later and it was true dreamland stuff. A free kick from outside the box was whipped in by Hartigan only to beat absolutely everyone. The ball bounced into the far corner past the despairing Harrison Male. 3-0 Barnet, a first goal at The Hive for the skipper. Game over. Pure excitement.
According to the wonderfully nerdy facility on this website where you can track your matches, this was my 487th time watching Barnet. I can’t think of a time in the 486 previous occasions where I’ve sat cackling with glee at just how good and at the same time ridiculous (in a positive way) what I was witnessing was. Remarkable stuff. The last half hour an hour was almost surreal in how comfortable we were and how borderline funny this all was. I am struggling to think of a more complete display, especially in this sort of context.
It was a very minor slight on the evening when York pulled one back at the death. This came a few minutes after the otherwise anonymous Stones hit both posts. These were York’s first attempts on goal. A goal guarded by last minute signing Toby Savin. An uneventful night for the debut loan keeper who may have done better with this late York chance. Owen Evans injury timing most unfortunate - hopefully nothing long-term.
The whistle blew shortly after to rapturous applause from a very busy Hive. 4050 in attendance, a little different from the usual midweek 800 or so. What a difference it made to the whole feeling of the occasion. It would be great if for the rest of the run in we can continue to get decent numbers through the door. There were some of the usual issues unfortunately with turnstiles and whatever else at kick off times; hopefully the football on show was enough to entice people back by itself.
To a man, we were fantastic. A 3-1 scoreline ultimately flattering our visitors. That was a performance for the ages, up there with anything most of us have ever seen before.
All credit to Dean Brennan. I’ve pointed it out when it has gone wrong in big games before, but he got this one down to an absolute tee. It was a tactical masterclass and every carefully considered decision paid off. Superb.
An interesting post-match interview in the circumstances. It is a bit of a game of bingo as to which Brennan we get, often the opposite you’d expect after a certain result. Understand frustrations particularly with the situation where Bailey Hobson was playing for Chesterfield Reserves in the afternoon rather than us in the evening, but questionable if this was the time to air recruitment concerns. We are doing pretty well with what we’ve got.
This win leaves us seven points clear of York although having played two games more. It’s totally in our hands and right here, right now, you have to fancy that we can do it. Two tricky away games in the North West to come. Four points from those would be most welcome to keep the momentum rolling. You wouldn’t write off all six at the moment, though.
These are absolutely golden times to be a Barnet fan, the like of which we’ve not seen for a generation. Enjoy it. Savour it. Drink it in - but let’s make sure we see it through so we are boring others in twenty years time with tales of this time. It’s all set up for a brilliant next few months.
Bring Barnet Back - Play Your Part
Of course, despite the excitement of this, the biggest Barnet victory we could currently have is securing the move back home. The New Underhill plans are currently being scrutinised by the council and we need every voice behind it in support.
If you haven’t already, please go to the council planning page and add your positive comments in support of the new ground: Link Here
It takes no more than five minutes once registered. We need a minimum of a thousand names on this as soon as possible. At the time of writing, we’re in the higher end of the 200s. A long way to go. Badger everyone you know who might do it!
Please check your junk mail for any confirmation link when registering, as it could go there. Once you’ve filled this out, tell absolutely everyone you know to do the same. This can’t be something where you rely on others to make the noise. We all have a responsibility to do whatever we can, together, to Bring Barnet Back!
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