On the team bus on the way back from Burton Albion last season after the Bees had secured a dramatic victory to ensure their League Two status my phone rang. “Where are you?” my caller enquired, “are you at the circus?” It certainly sounded like it.

The noise and the fun being had at celebrating that result was in marked contrast to how everyone felt after the result on Friday night. All was quiet, somber and reflective.

Yet with the exception of the last seconds of the match Barnet had done enough to warrant a point for their endeavors.

This season’s cliché seems to be that football is a ‘results business’ and in the final analysis that of course is true with the league table being the only guide that counts in determining your worth.

Despite the disappointment it needs to be said how well Barnet had played during this match; they took their style of play to the opposition and dominated for large spells. 

On occasions the quality of the passing and movement was of a very high standard, it was good to see a Barnet team play as well as this.

Of course there is disappointment with the result; a glance at the league standings will tell you all about the consequences of this defeat.

But just like the 2-2 draw at Exeter City it indicated that Barnet could come back from being behind and even though it was not enough it showed the spirit within the team.

It would have been disturbing if the Bees had been limp and lifeless and just escaped with a 2-1 defeat when it could have been so much worse; but that wasn’t really the case and you could tell from the faces and expressions of everyone in the Rovers camp that they knew they had pulled a fast one with this result.

Until those final seconds, and I mean seconds, it looked as if the brave 248 travelling fans would have been rewarded with a point; gutted to be sure but with a performance like that I hope they don’t think they travelled in vain.

David Bloomfield