Right In The Mix

The battle at the top intensifies

Seven points from nine on offer, not a bad return for Barnet FC over the last week or so. Certainly, a few clubs would like to trade for that as we enter the final month of the year right in the mix in the top three.

I guess we could have had nine if truth be told, a contentious disallowed goal for Ade Oluwo at the weekend saw the only points dropped in this mini spell.

I actually didn’t blog a piece anywhere for the Woking game last weekend, pretty much with the start of a new job training, a week of 3am starts (only one a week once the busy stuff is done) and much else already planned in, time has been at a premium.

A routine win? Maybe so as it looks on paper and with the home record as it at The Hive, but the conditions evened it up for a very short period. I watched Woking very early in pre-season, they looked very short of numbers back then and fast forward to last weekend not short of bodies but more looking to be short on quality.

I didn’t expect them to be anywhere near the play-off’s this year, and so far that’s proving a fairly good prediction, but a long way still to go this season and as has been shown, most are capable of beating each other on their day.

Dale Gorman. Now I have a lot of time for the Irishman, had a great chat with him pre-season at Horsham. But I think we can all agree however much we liked him, Mark Shelton and Bailey Hobson have shown that we can upgrade any player in this squad, always a better player out there, it’s whether we can pay the wages.

Granted Gorms has some right dross around him and this protracted takeover in Surrey must have hampered their recruitment massively, he still has plenty to offer and doesn’t appear the Cards fans have seen anything like the best of him yet.

Yeovil away, the start of two long away trips beginning in midweek. My tip for them was to be well away from the bottom four places and so far exceeding that teasing with the play-off places regularly. Not to be an easy place to go and needed an assured confident performance.

A late winner from a lovely Danny Collinge header, the ball in from Harts was bang on the money, but we take it back just one step earlier and the ball played by Zak Brunt into Harts was exquisite.

Not all one way traffic and another three points we gained from bodies and blocks all the way, they could have had a penalty, the superb save from Nick Hayes onto the post hasn’t been talked about enough in my opinion, how crucial could that one be come May or others likewise.

Back on the top of the table and onwards to Hartlepool, days away for the squad and home seemingly a long way away but a job to be done. Pool are in a little mini-resurgence, another club I believe I hadn’t tipped to be in the top seven mix either.

Very interesting this one, most home fans saying they’re happy with a point, the odd one believing they should have won despite the NLP stats showing zero shots on target for the home side, work that one out! A perfectly good goal ruled out from Ade as mentioned above, watched it over seven times and still can’t see the foul.

For me, he makes a decision, gets under the flight of the ball and just makes it look like a foul when one isn’t there. Tavs should have scored with his header, not connected to that foul, on the flip side does everything right heading it down as you should at the top end of the pitch, the keeper just in the right place at the right time.

A couple of penalty shouts for us, neither given, does it even itself up from Wednesday night when Yeovil could and probably should have had a late one? Law of averages make the call I guess.

The away form is starting to catch up with itself, only Forest Green and Yeovil have now won more than Barnet on the road, a good couple of weeks put to bed, almost a 100% fit squad are knocking on the door.

However, a week’s break with the FA Trophy coming up on Saturday, a chance maybe for a few to stake a claim although we know DB does like to go strong in this competition so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar line up to the one that took the field at Hartlepool with maybe Tavares and Browne playing a little less for protection.

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