Just like in that game, against Alfreton and Macclesfield, Barnet contrived to give their opponents a two goal lead and successive defeats have been the result.  

But Barnet have not become a bad team overnight.  This was a team that topped the league following the 3-0 victory at Braintree, remember.  

What has gone wrong in the last couple of games, and what can Edgar Davids’ men do to put it right?

After the Alfreton game Graham Stack had some strong words for the players in his notes in the Macclesfield programme.  

It was not remotely close to the standards Barnet players set themselves and Barnet’s number 29 demanded a response against the Silkmen.  

Basic defensive errors had cost the Bees against Alfreton, but Stack implored the team to put in an improved performance on Tuesday night.

And to be fair to Barnet, they flew out of the traps. Davids, starting for the first time in the Skrill Premier, hit the side netting after breaking away early on and Marciano Mengerink missed an early penalty.  

It seemed like a matter of time before Barnet’s early pressure would tell. Unfortunately Barnet conceded what looked like a soft goal from a set piece, when Connor Jennings ghosted in unmarked and put them 1-0 ahead.  

It went from bad to worse when Jennings curled home a long range effort from distance to make it 2-0. 

Credit Jennings for the precise finish, but after conceding long range efforts against Halifax and Hyde, question whether this is becoming a worrying trend for the Bees backline.  

The ball should have been cleared well before Jennings got his chance, in my opinion.

Davids reverted to centre back and the Bees piled on the pressure and Mauro Vilhete, completing a quartet of players given their first start in the league along with Luisma Villa and Mengerink, scored what ultimately proved to be a consolation goal.  

In the second half there were a worrying number of misplaced passes. Barnet simply must retain possession better in future games if they hope to get results consistently in this division. 

Joint top scorers Jake Hyde and Keanu Marsh-Brown were sorely missed.

The defence needs to purge itself of the individual errors that have been so costly in the last few weeks, the midfielders need to retain possession rather more effectively and we need to be a lot more clinical in front of goal.  

None of these tasks are insurmountable with a team that, despite recent results, has considerable offensive, creative and defensive qualities with talented individuals, many of whom I would rank as football league quality as shown in many games last season.  

But talk is cheap, and Barnet must perform on the pitch in the next few games.  Let’s get the bouncebackability starting in time for Salisbury please!