Charlie MacDonald has hailed the togetherness that Barnet showed to come away from Torquay with all three points last weekend, and stated that confidence is high in the camp heading into Saturday’s Fa Trophy encounter with Concord Rangers.

Reflecting on a hard-earned win at Plainmoor, the Bees’ captain said:

“It was fantastic. The whole trip was a great success. We travelled up the day before and had a good training session and a nice bit of fun just to try and make the journey more enjoyable.

“We even had a few sing-songs in the hotel the night before the game just to really get the team spirit going and we have ended up getting the result that we needed.”

MacDonald was substituted shortly before half-time after Martin Allen was forced to rejig his side following the sending off of Bondz N’Gala, but the captain admitted that he had no qualms watching from the sidelines as his teammates recovered from the setback to seal a vital victory:

“It is part and parcel of it. I am the skipper at the club but when you do get a sending off like that, for a defender especially, you do need to fill the gap and keep those two banks of four.

“I knew that the gaffer needed to make that switch and I knew that it was me who had to be sacrificed. It’s not about the individual; it is always about the collective.”

Charlie also singled out Mauro Vilhete for special praise, after the winger scored a sensational goal to put the Bees ahead after a quarter of an hour for his first strike of the season:

“Mauro has been fantastic. His goal was different class – the jink inside, his body movement, and the power he got on the shot to put the ball in the top corner was fantastic.

“Credit to Mauro, he has played in several different positions this year and he shone on the right sound of midfield. He helped out defensively with Yids and he showed an attacking dimension going forward as well.”

Barnet turn their attentions to the FA Trophy this weekend, with a first round tie away to Concord Rangers. Martin Allen has already hinted that he will be making changes to the side that played on Saturday, but MacDonald is adamant that whoever is selected will be more than capable of progressing:

“At the moment we are going into games and feeling really good and sharp. Winning breeds confidence, that is no secret, and I think if we keep playing the way that we are then it is going to be hard to stop us. 

“The Trophy is a rest from the league, not that we necessarily want one with the way that things are going at the moment. It is a chance to play at Wembley so you can’t take the competition lightly.

“Concord Rangers are a good side and we will be going to their patch after they have had a couple of good results so it will be a tough game, but whoever is selected this squad is strong enough to go there and win.”