Barnet were beaten 0-1 by Ipswich Town at The Hive despite putting in an incredibly encouraging performance.

The Bees matched their opponents every step of the way but after Mark Byrne saw his penalty saved David McGoldrick headed home late on in the first-half to score the only goal of the match.

Ipswich keeper Scott Loach also enjoyed a fine afternoon denying Curtis Weston, Andy Yiadom and of course Byrne with a string of fine saves.

The Bees made an incredibly bright start to the match and their first chance came within the opening two minutes when Luke Gambin’s shot was blocked.

Keanu Marsh-Brown was next to try his luck but his 35-yard strike drifted well wide before Harry Crawford’s shot was blocked on route to goal following some superb build up play by Weston and Byrne.

Moments later Weston surged into the box and unleashed a fierce drive that Loach palmed as far as Gambin, and he squared the ball to Edgar Davids but his shot was blocked with what looked like an arm. 

Ipswich came back into the game as the half wore on and they tested Graham Stack on a number of occasions but the former Arsenal man was equal to their attempts.

Midway through the first-half Barnet were gifted the perfect opportunity to take the lead when Marsh-Brown found Crawford who was brought down in the box by Luke Chambers.

Mark Byrne stepped up but Loach leapt down to his right to tip the ball to safety. 

The opening 45 minutes were extremely competitive but the half looked like ending goalless, however, with four minutes to play Aaron Cresswell swung a beautiful free-kick into the box and McGodrick glanced the ball past Stack. 

The Bees made one change at the break with Luisma replacing Marsh-Brown and the Spaniard made a big impression.

Gambin was the first to test the Ipswich defence in the second period and they simply couldn’t live with his pace as he drifted past five defenders before finding Byrne whose shot was blocked then saved.

Luisma then fired wide before Yiadom left three Ipswich defenders trailing in his wake only to see Loach tip the ball over the bar.

Jake Hyde, Roberto and Dom Vose were also introduced in the second-half but despite the added attacking options and wave after wave of attack the Bees were unable to draw level as the match ended Barnet 0-1 Ipswich Town.