The Bees return to the Hive this evening for the second consecutive Tuesday night fixture under the lights on home soil, welcoming Crewe Alexandra for the first February match-up in Sky Bet League Two action.
Barnet came away from Croud Meadow on Saturday afternoon with only a point to add to the board after a frustrating meeting with Shrewsbury Town. Despite having 77% of possession in Shropshire, as well as 18 shots on goal, with seven of those being on target, the team in form were unable to find the back of the net.
Nnamdi Ofoborh had two tame efforts comfortably gathered in the first 45 and Adam Senior had a shot tipped over the bar by Matthew Cox, but the closest chance of the half fell for Ryan Glover who couldn’t pick a spot for his effort inside the area and instead was into the gloves of the Shrewsbury shot-stopper.
Barnet were hoping to have had a golden opportunity to take the lead just before the break, but a penalty wasn’t given for handball.
The second-half displayed much of the same, with the Bees progressing the ball into the final third on numerous occasions but running out of ideas when the ball made it’s way into the box. Danny Collinge and Rhys Browne came the closest in the final 45, with the defender hitting the side netting and our number eight striking over the bar from inside the box.
The Bees have won three on the bounce in North West London, so will be hoping to make it four when the Railwaymen make the journey South tomorrow.
Barnet’s last five results:
Shrewsbury Town 0-0 Barnet FC
Barnet FC 1-0 Tranmere Rovers
Barnet FC 3-2 Oldham Athletic
Grimsby Town 1-0 Barnet FC
Barnet FC 2-1 Crawley Town
Crewe Alexandra:
Tonight’s visitors sit tenth in the table, just two points above the Bees and have only once lost since the turn of the year, most recently picking up a point away at top-of-the table Bromley and a win at home against a compact Colchester United side.
Calum Agius scored the only goal of the tie to see Crewe climb closer to the play-off places, with the U’s coming away frustrated after having the majority of the possession and 18 shots on goal to the Railwaymen’s three, but were unable to find the back of the net to make the dominance worth it.
The result saw new Crewe keeper Ian Lawlor register his first clean sheet in Alex colours.
Crewe Alexandra’s last five results:
Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Colchester United
Bromley 2-2 Crewe Alexandra
Notts County 1-0 Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra 3-1 Barrow AFC
Crewe Alexandra 1-1 Harrogate Town
In the opposition dugout:
With no change in management since the reverse fixture, Lee Bell has now surpassed three years in charge of the Railwaymen in December.
The 43-year-old added two new faces to the Alex squad in the January transfer window, with goalkeeper Ian Lawlor joining from League One side Doncaster Rovers and young centre-back Alfie Pond on loan from Premier League Outfit Wolverhampton.
Bell was impressed by the character shown by his side after their recent 1-0 win over Colchester United, who they have now leap-frogged in the table and on tonight’s test has said, “Barnet is a difficult place to go”.
The Crewe manager is without top goalscorer Emre Tezgel who sustained an ankle injury on Boxing Day and Jack Lankester who has been out of action since early November.
Omar Bogle may return to the attacking options this evening and defensive midfielder Conor Thomas who returned as a substitute for the Colchester United clash on Saturday may also be involved.
One to watch:
One of the Railwaymen’s biggest attacking threats this season has been centre-forward Josh March. The 28-year-old has scored seven goals and notched seven assists so far this campaign, featuring in all but six league games.
The striker is pacey, but also aggressive in the final third so he can shield the ball well and is a formidable presence in the box.
The Stourbridge-born striker started the season off strongly, providing five assists and scoring once in Crewe’s opening four matches of the season and most recently scored and assisted in a 3-1 win against Barrow last month.
Last time the two sides met:
The Bees travelled to the Mornflake Stadium in September and came away with a 2-1 win thanks to Cieran Slicker’s heroics in between the sticks and goals from Lee Ndlovu and Ryan Glover.
Our Scottish shot-stopper made the first stop to deny Josh March shortly after the second-half began, but Crewe managed to capitalise only a few minutes later through Tommi O’Reilly.
The lead was short-lived as Ndlovu struck to level proceedings a short while after and less than ten minutes later, Slicker saved a second penalty from March to keep the Bees in the tie.
Glover scored the match-winner and his first EFL goal on 80 minutes, finding the back of the net from close-range to give Barnet victory on the road.
COYB