The Bees are back under the Hive lights tonight as they look to turn their draws into their first league win since the middle of October. Bristol Rovers provide the test for Dean Brennan’s side in North-West London this evening as the festive period approaches in Sky Bet League Two.
Last time out, Barnet were made to settle for their fifth consecutive draw of the campaign, with Harrogate Town being the side to deny the amber and black army all three points on home soil.
A tie that started brightly for the visitors, but to no avail, the momentum soon swung in favour of the hosts, when a moment of Britt Assombalonga brilliance saw the Bees take the lead in the first-half.
Mark Shelton had the opportunity to give the Bees a two-goal cushion heading into the break, but Harrogate shot-stopper James Belshaw made what proved to be a crucial save for Simon Weaver’s side.
A second-half full of missed opportunities and multiple penalty shouts for Barnet soon came back to bite when Jack Muldoon headed home in the final stages to give the struggling Sulphurites a point on the road.
Barnet’s last five results:
Barnet FC 1-1 Harrogate Town
Cambridge United 0-0 Barnet FC
Barnet FC 2-2 MK Dons
Fleetwood Town 2-1 Barnet FC (FA Cup R1)
Barrow AFC 2-2 Barnet FC
From the dugout:
Connor Smith’s pre-match interview can be viewed HERE!
Bristol:
The Gas are one of the four relegated teams who fell out of the third tier at the end of last season and one of three of those sides who are sat in the bottom half of the League Two table heading into matchday 19 of the campaign.
The Pirates have only managed five wins, with three of those being on the road, and haven’t won in the league since late September.
Bristol were knocked out of the FA Cup second round on Saturday by League One Port Vale and have previously defeated Cambridge in the EFL Trophy on penalties, but their last league outing saw ten-man Notts County grab a late goal to seal victory in a joint-club-record eighth successive league defeat for Darrell Clarke’s side.
Despite having 68% of the possession and 20 shots to the Magpies’ four, with the only one on target being Matthew Dennis’ 86th minute decisive strike, the Gas were left with nothing on home soil.
Bristol Rovers’ last five results:
Port Vale 1-0 Bristol Rovers (FA Cup R2)
Bristol Rovers 2(4) – 2(2) – Cambridge United (Vertu Trophy)
Bristol Rovers 0-1 Notts County
Cheltenham Town 1-0 Bristol Rovers
Accrington Stanley 3-1 Bristol Rovers
In the opposition dugout:
In charge for his second spell with the Gas following their relegation, Darrell Clarke has six years of prior experience with the club and has led them to two consecutive promotions in 2015 and 2016.
The 47-year-old first experienced coaching when he took on a player-manager role at now-liquidated Salisbury City, where he helped the club to two consecutive promotions.
After four years with the Pirates, multiple spells followed with Walsall, Port Vale, Cheltenham Town and Barnsley, guiding the Valiants out of league two in 2022 via the play-offs.
One to watch:
It’s hard to not look at the vastly experienced Josh McEachran when talking about ones to watch for Bristol Rovers this season.
Operating in the middle of the park, the 32-year-old former Chelsea player is closing in on 400 career appearances across all leagues in the EFL, as well as the Premier League and overseas in the Netherlands.
McEachran has played all but three league games this season for the Pirates due to s short-term injury but returned to the starting XI in their meeting with Notts County last month, coming on as a half-time substitute in his return to fitness.
One of the first names on Darrell Clarke’s sheet in the Gas’ campaign, McEachran is classy on the ball and can control a midfield well, while also being good out of possession and defensively doing plenty of the dirty work and winning crucial tackles.
Last time the two sides met:
The last time the two sides met in league action at the Hive was in January 2016, when Gavin Hoyte’s goal five minutes into the tie gave the Bees three points on home soil.
The sides have since met in the first round of the FA Cup in 2018, with the Bees winning the replay 2-1 following a 1-1 stalemate, with Craig Robson and Byron Harrison’s goals two minutes apart sending the Bees through to round two after finding themselves a goal down early in the second-half.
COYB