Introduction
• Barnet host Rochdale hoping to secure a second consecutive win after last week’s 1-2 win over York City.
• Rochdale were also victorious last time out as Rhys Bennett’s goal in the first-half gave them a 1-0 win at home over Torquay United.
• That win was also a first for new manager Keith Hill who is now in his second spell in charge of the club.
• Hill, who left Barnsley on 29 December 2012, has now secured 99 career wins as a manager and could reach 100 if the Dale beat the Bees on Saturday.
• Barnet currently sit 20th in Npower League Two on 33 points, Rochdale are four places above in 16th with 41 points. Just ten points separate the bottom 9 clubs.
Team news
Barnet Football Club
• Ricky Holmes will not be available after being ruled out for the remainder of the 2012/13 season, Liam O’Brien will also not feature as he continues to recover from a long-term groin injury.
• Bondz N’Gala is fit and could feature following a head injury against York City one week ago, Jon Nurse suffered a concussion but it is unclear whether he will feature or not.
• Dani Lopez could make his Barnet debut after being an unused substitute last weekend following his loan move from Stevenage.
The opposition
• Rochdale, located in Greater Manchester, were formed in 1907 and play their home games at Spotland.
• The club’s top scorer this season is Bobby Grant who has notched 12, he is best remembered however for a nightclub fracas in which he was arrested along with England captain Steven Gerrard.
• The club’s top scorer is Reg Jenkins and he was also voted as the club’s best ever player by the fans, sadly he passed away in January.
• In 2010/11 Rochdale finished 9th in league one with 68 points, equalling their highest league finish since 1969/70 but they were relegated to League Two just one-year later.
• Since their admission to the Football League in 1921, Rochdale’s main rivalries have been with Bury, Burnley, Oldham Athletic, Halifax Town, Accrington Stanley and Stockport County.
Last time out
16 February 2013
Npower League Two
York City 1-2 Barnet
Barnet: Stack, Fuller, Brown (Johnson 46), Stephens, N’Toko, Byrne, Yiadom, Oster, Davids, Nurse, Beattie (Hyde 66).
Subs not used: Barnes, Kamdjo, Weston, Lopez.
Goals: Yiadom 25, Hyde 73.
16 February 2013
Npower League Two
Rochdale 1-0 Torquay United
Rochdale: Lillis, Bennett, Cansdell-Sheriff, P Edwards, Barry-Murphy, Kennedy, Tutte, McIntyre, Haworth (Rose 70), Donnelly (Grimes 55), Gornell.
Subs not used: Collins, Rafferty, Logan, Jones, Adebola.
Goals: Bennett 18.
Previous meeting
1 September 2012 – Rochdale 2-0 Barnet
Rochdale secured their first win of the season with a 2-0 win over bottom side Barnet whose wait for a first league win continues. Midfielder Ashley Grimes opened the scoring with 17 minutes played when he got on the end of George Donnelly’s free-kick to convert past Graham Stack. Dele Adebola made it 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining in the first-half when he deflected Matt Pearson’s shot past Stack. Andy Yiadom had the best chance for Barnet but he was denied by the crossbar before Jake Hyde forced a save from Josh Lillis.
Rochdale: Lillis, Edwards, Edwards, McIntyre, Pearson, Barry-Murphy (Putterill 61), Kennedy, Tutte, Grimes (Grant 61), Donnelly, Adebola.
Subs not used: Smith, Rafferty, Bennett, Craney, Curran.
Goal: Grimes 17, Adebola 34.
Barnet: Stack, Fuller, Brown, Fortune, Saville, Lee (Abdulla 64), Byrne (Warren 82), Yiadom (Edgar 82), Weston, Holmes, Hyde.
Subs not used: Cowler, Kamdjo, Gambin, Lowe.
Goal: n/a
Background
• Barnet have faced Rochdale 31 times in all competitions and they hold the edge with 13 wins to Dale’s nine, there have also been nine draws.
• Goals from Ashley Grimes and Dele Adebola gave Rochdale a 2-0 win over Barnet at Spotland in this season’s reverse fixture.
• The first ever meeting between the two sides came on 23 November 1991 with the Dale securing a 1-0 win at Spotland.
• Dougie Freedman scored four goals in a 6-2 in at Underhill on 13 September 1994. Mark Cooper and Shaun Gale also got on the scoresheet for the Bees with Paul A-Williams and Shaun Reid (pen) scoring for the away side.
• During the 1994/95 season both club’s secured 4-0 wins over the other away from home.
• The side’s have met twice outside the Football League, in November 2008 an FA Cup tie ended 1-1 at Underhill before Rochdale sealed a 3-2 win 10 days later in the replay at Spotland.
Last six meetings (Npower League Two unless stated)
1 September 2012 Rochdale 2-0 Barnet
8 May 2010 Barnet 1-0 Rochdale
10 October 2009 Rochdale 2-1 Barnet
3 March 2009 Barnet 2-1 Rochdale
18 November 2008 Rochdale 3-2 Barnet (FA Cup)
8 November 2008 Barnet 1-1 Rochdale (FA Cup)
Overall record v (all competitions) W 13 D 9 L 9
Referee
• Saturday’s referee will be Chris Sarginson.
• Sarginson has taken control of 23 matches this season, he has shown 51 yellow cards and just four red cards in these matches.
• He has taken control of one Barnet match this season, the 2-2 draw with Exeter City, but is yet to officiate in a match involving Rochdale.
• Sarginson will be assisted by Steve Meredith and Christopher Powell, the fourth official will be Matthew Wilkes.
General Information
• The weather forecast for Saturday’s match is for grey cloud with maximum temperatures reaching 2C.
• For all the relevant travel information please visit www.tfl.gov.uk.
• Information for the match tickets can be viewed by clicking here.
Match sponsors
Earlier this week it was Mr Bumble’s birthday and to celebrate we are proud to announce he has a new sponsor, South Mimms Travel who are also our official Travel Partners.
South Mimms Travel are a family run business who have been operating Executive Coach Hire throughout the UK and Europe for over 20 years and have built up the business on a reputation for reliability, serviceability and efficiency. For further info call 01707 322 555 or see the advert in this programme.
After training on Tuesday our first team had a great afternoon out at A1 Shooting Ground where they spent a few hours clay pigeon shooting followed by a late brunch.
A1SG is set over 40 acres of beautiful Hertfordshire countryside and is the ideal location for corporate events. They can offer group packages and numerous discounts, to find out more check today’s match day programme advert, call 020 8441 9986 or www.a1sg.co.uk… And by the way, the afternoons Top Gun Top Shot went to Curtis Weston.
On Saturday afternoon we welcome Match Sponsor John Cosgrove and his guests from Crusader Assistance to the Directors’ Lounge.
Crusader Assistance offer a leading crash advisory service. In the event of a driving accident* call Crusader Assistance who may be able to help you recover your losses, such as:
Loss of earnings, Recovery of your excess and Claim damages for personal effects. Crusader can organise a replacement vehicle and sort any repairs and if your vehicle cannot be repaired the experienced staff will help you negotiate a settlement with insurers.
For swift, caring and expert help, call Crusader Assistance on 020 8744 4000 *Whether you’re in a car, van or on a bike – Crusader Assistance can still give you expert help and advice.
Programme Sponsor is Nigel Freeborne from Net Bar Consultants. Net Bar services include Cost consultants and project managers for building construction. For further info call Nigel on 07770 564 744.
Ball Sponsor and supporters of Barnet FC for many years are The Times Group Newspaper which is our local paper offering latest news within the community as well as up to date news from Underhill.
The Times Series has a distribution of over 120,000 and has advertisers from local estate agents, car dealers, retailers and many more. Welcome to Andrew Goodrich and the rest of your guests.
Further information about the group can be found on: www.times-series.co.uk and the advert in this programme.
If you look around the ground you will notice our new board sponsor FREEBETS.CO.UK.
Pitch side advertising is the perfect platform which allows brand awareness to your product and we have many clients who have benefited from this exposure here at Underhill, BEM Electrical in New Barnet and Stanmore college to name just two.
If you would like to see your name in front of our loyal Bees, Barnet FC Ladies, Arsenal Next Gen matches as well as on national television including the Football League Show on BBC, Sky Sports News and in local and national media then give us a call.
As we enter the final stretch of the season and with just 7 matches to play at Underhill we still have some great hospitality packages available, which include our renowned Directors Lounge three-course meals.
If you’re looking to impress your clients or colleagues, celebrate in style with friends or family we have a package that suits all your entertaining needs.
Alternatively, if you are looking to promote your business locally or nationally we pride ourselves on offering a wide range of opportunities to suit all budgets and are just a phone call away to bespoke a package for you.
In addition to the above our commercial brochure is available to download from the following link: www.barnetfc.com/page/CommercialBrouchure, which details all the latest Barnet FC commercial offerings, including our tailored advertising solutions and first class match day hospitality.
