The Bees round of the month with a trip to Shropshire tomorrow to face a struggling Shrewsbury side under new management in a 3pm kick-off at Croud Meadow.
The Bees made it four wins out of five on Tuesday as another late winner secured three points on home soil for the second time in four days.
Mark Shelton’s 96th-minute diving header made it three consecutive home wins for Barnet and took the midfielder’s season tally to six goals.
It was a game of patience, in which the hosts controlled much of the evening, but a well-organised Tranmere defense made it difficult to break the visitors down and the Bees didn’t create much in front of goal, especially in the first-half.
Dean Brennan made an early change in the second 45, which had a crucial influence on the game, with Anthony Hartigan and Kane Smith able to dictate the tempo of the game and help progress the ball further up the pitch and more often, feeding Idris Kanu who got into plenty of dangerous areas.
Tranmere began to tire as the game ticked into added time, but the Bees continued to overload the box, with Shelton getting into good positions, but his shots didn’t test Joe Murphy enough in the Tranmere net, until a ball from Kanu was nodded into his path and he was in the right place at the right time to head the ball across the line.
The Bees sit fifth in the form table ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Shropshire and will be looking to kick-start their strong form on the road, having won and drawn five on their travels so far this campaign.
Barnet’s last five results:
Barnet FC 1-0 Tranmere Rovers
Barnet FC 3-2 Oldham Athletic
Grimsby Town 1-0 Barnet FC
Barnet FC 2-1 Crawley Town
Bristol Rovers 0-2 Barnet FC
Shrewsbury Town:
Tomorrow’s hosts sit 20th in the Sky Bet League Two table, only two points above the drop zone, and have only one in their last 11.
The Salop are three out of the four relegated teams that have struggled to push for an immediate return to League One, with Cambridge United being the only side pushing at the right end of the table.
Following a 5-1 defeat to automatic promotion hopefuls MK Dons on Saturday, the Shrews travelled to the Cledara Abbey Stadium and were unlucky not to come away with a point, but Luca Hoole’s handball in the box in added time gave the U’s a lifeline and a golden opportunity for another three points, with Ben Knight making no mistake from the spot and sending the Shropshire side home empty handed.
Shrewsbury have only scored 23 league goals this season, with only Bristol Rovers and Harrogate scoring less.
Shrewsbury Town’s last five results:
Cambridge United 1-0 Shrewsbury Town
MK Dons 5-1 Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Harrogate Town
Wolves 6-1 Shrewsbury Town (FA Cup R3)
Shrewsbury Town 0-3 Bristol Rovers
In the opposition dugout:
The Sallop parted ways with former Head Coach Michael Appleton on Wednesday after registering their 15th defeat of the campaign, with former Brackley Town boss Gavin Cowan coming in as his replacement yesterday.
A former Salop defender, Cowan’s managerial career began at AFC Telford where he retired from professional football and guided the Bucks to the brink of the National League North play-offs and to the semi-final of the FA Trophy.
The 44-year-old joined Brackley in March 2023 and after leading them to the play-offs in his first full season, went on to lead the Saints to the National League North title the following year.
One to watch:
One of the Sallop’s standout players in a turbulent campaign has been former Premier League midfielder Sam Clucas.
The 35-year-old made 66 appearances in the topflight with Hull City and Swansea City, as well as over 200 appearances in the Championship across a senior career that has spanned almost 18 years.
This season, the ball-playing midfielder has two goals and five assists to his name, his experience allowing him to adapt to different roles in the midfield.
With over 120 goal contributions across the ten clubs he’s played for, he’s a valuable member of the Sallop squad, bringing physicality and technique to his game.
Last time the two sides met:
The Bees faced Shrewsbury on home soil in September last year, in matchday 7 of the campaign, with Dean Brennan’s side being defeated 3-1 on home soil.
It was the perfect start for the Bees inside 15 minutes, as Mark Shelton opened the scoring when Nnamdi Ofoborh found him isolated in the middle of the box to smash it home to give Barnet the early advantage.
Not even a minute later, however, Shrewsbury were level when Danny Collinge frustratingly put the ball into the back of his own net.
The momentum then swung in the visitors’ favour for the remainder of the afternoon, with Bradley Ihionvien and Sam Clucas scoring to make it 3-1 before the break. A goalless second-half followed, with the Sallop taking the points back to Shropshire.
COYB