It’s away game number two of the week tomorrow, as the Bees make the short trip up the M1 to face title-chasing MK Dons in a lunchtime kick-off in Buckinghamshire.
This is the first of three fixtures over the next few weeks, in which Barnet come face-to-face with all of the league’s top three sides as we’re now into single digits of games remaining this season.
Dean Brennan’s side were frustrated not to come away from the Broadfield Stadium with all three points on Tuesday night, as Mark Shelton’s goal early in the second-half was cancelled out by an 89th-minute penalty taken by Danilo Orsi.
After an early wake-up call, with Crawley hitting the woodwork, the Bees were able to swing the momentum in their favour.
Kabongo Tshimanga, Ryan Glover, Adam Senior and Danny Collinge all came close to finding the back of the net in the first 45, but no purple and white shirt could finish off an attack before the break.
The Bees continued to press in the second-half and Shelton struck his seventh of the season when Romoney Crichlow’s throw in met Glover. Glover’s delivery was then headed back across goal by Senior, before our number nine’s outstretched foot poked the ball across the line to give us the lead.
Callum Stead came close to doubling our lead when Crawley’s keeper Jack Chapman came out of his area, but our number ten sent the ball bouncing off the outside of the post. Another chance came when a Hartigan corner was nodded on by a red shirt and looked like it was heading goalwards, but Crichlow’s body at the back post saw the ball come ricocheting off the frame of the goal.
Crawley’s equaliser came a minute before the 90, with Cieran Slicker diving the right way, but the Red Devils’ number 99 nestled the ball into the bottom right corner to secure a point for the struggling Sussex side.
Barnet’s last five results:
Crawley Town 1-1 Barnet
Barnet FC 1-2 Newport County
Salford City 2 – 0 Barnet FC
Barnet FC 1 – 0 Chesterfield
Accrington Stanley 0 – 1 Barnet FC
MK Dons:
The Dons currently the second automatic promotion spot and sit only two points behind league-leaders Bromley, having won 21, drawn 11 and only lost on six occasions during the 2025/26 campaign.
The Buckinghamshire club were dubbed one of the favourites for the title after spending big in the summer and are currently on track to be one of the three teams that will get guaranteed promotion to the third tier.
Having netted 75 goals so far this campaign, averaging 1.9 goals per 90, tomorrow’s hosts are not shy in the final third and have 19 different goalscorers on their books this season.
MK Dons hosted Colchester United on Wednesday night at Stadium MK and recorded a 1-0 win and took their clean sheet tally to 13.
The U’s were made to defend for much of the first-half, with Alex Gilbey unfortunate not to score his 11th of the campaign when his effort from inside the area hit the crossbar, before Aaron Collins wasted an opportunity from 12 yards out.
The breakthrough came in the 39th minute when a header from Ben Wiles came off the bar, before hitting Colchester shot-stopper and going into the back of the net.
It was a game in which the hosts dominated in the danger areas and registered 17 shots, despite only 3 being on target, with their visitors unable to record a single effort on goal.
The Dons are on a current unbeaten run of 14 games and the Bees will be hoping to stop that tomorrow lunchtime.
In the opposition dugout:
Former Derby County and Rotherham United boss Paul Warne is doing a remarkable job in his first season at Milton Keynes and has led his side to 11 wins out of 19 on home soil.
The Dons’ manager has instilled belief into his players, always looking for individuals that will buy into a collective effort of wanting to win, with technical ability not always at the forefront.
The 52-year-old is still without experienced forward Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who suffered a hamstring injury towards the back end of last year and also top goalscorer Callum Patterson who’s been out since last month with an ankle injury. Warne has said both are close to returning, but there’s no need to rush them back.
Ones to watch:
With a wealth of experience in the squad, it’s hard to single out one star player for the Dons, but with top scorer Paterson still side-lined, another one of their biggest attacking outlets is club captain Alex Gilbey.
The 31-year-old experienced forward has entered double digits for goals in his third season with the club during his second stint, after previously playing from 2017-2020 and is close to netting 50 goals, and on his way to hitting 240 appearances in white over the next couple of weeks.
The playmaker is able to control the tempo from further up the pitch, as well as create opportunities for himself and his teammates and has been dubbed the ‘beating heart of the Buckinghamshire outfit’s midfield’.
Gilbey has started all but two games this campaign, making him a key player in the Dons’ push for promotion to League One.
Last time the two sides met:
MK Dons travelled to the Hive back in November and left with a point after the teams played out an eventful 2-2 draw.
The Bees found themselves with a two-goal advantage thanks to goals from Adam Senior and Mark Shelton from the spot, but the Dons closed the gap before the break, through Jack Sanders.
Our two-goal lead should’ve been restored early in the second-half, when Mark Shelton’s indirect free-kick found the back of the net, but as there was no other touch before the ball crossed the line, the goal was ruled out.
The Dons levelled proceedings when Mendez-Laing found the back of the net midway through the second 45.
Both sides created opportunities as they looked for a third, but the score remained the same at the full-time whistle.
The Bees will be looking for their first win at Stadium MK for almost 20 years, with Ismail Yakubu’s goal proving to be the difference back in 2008, a year after the stadium opened.
COYB