The Bees make the 440-mile round trip North today to face Accrington Stanley under the Lancashire lights in a rearranged Sky Bet League Two fixture.
The visit to the Wham stadium will see Barnet looking to pick up their first win since Walsall 17 days ago and putting Saturday’s result in the past.
It was a fairly even contest in the first 45 minutes in Essex and despite finding themselves a goal down, Dean Brennan’s side brought it back level before the break, when excellent pressing from Kabongo Tshimanga allowed the forward to set up Nnamdi Ofoborh for his fourth goal in a Bees’ shirt.
The Bees did well to weather the initial storm following the restart, with the U’s getting plenty of entries into the box, but the Barnet backline could only cope with the pressure until Colchester were awarded a penalty on 75 minutes.
The second-half ran away from the Bees’, with both Kane Smith and Nik Tavares leaving the pitch with injuries, followed by a combination of substitutions that didn’t make an impact and Colchester’s quality in the final third.
Barnet’s last five results:
Colchester United 4-1 Barnet FC
Barnet FC 1-2 Swindon Town
Barnet 0-0 Cheltenham Town
Walsall 1-3 Barnet FC
Barnet FC 1-1 Crewe Alexandra
Accrington Stanley:
The ‘Owd Reds come into tonight’s game with three wins from their last five games and sit one point and one place below the Bees.
The Lancashire outfit fell short to a rejuvenised Shrewsbury Town at home on Saturday, with the first sucker punch of the afternoon coming just 30 seconds after kick-off, when Iwan Morgan weaved his way into the area and found the back of the net.
A flurry of chances followed for Stanley, but the final movement never resulted in a goal. Shrewsbury netted their second minutes after the restart through with Luca Hoole heading home, but despite searching for a way back into the game, the hosts were left empty-handed at the Wham Stadium.
Going into the game, John Doolan’s side had won four of their last five, but a mixture of suspensions and injuries meant the Stanley boss could only name five substitutes and was limited in being able to bring on game-changing personnel in hopes they could turn the game around.
Accrington Stanley’s last five results:
Accrington Stanley 0-2 Shrewsbury Town
Tranmere Rovers 0-1 Accrington Stanley
Grimsby Town 1-0 Accrington Stanley
Accrington Stanley 1-0 Salford City
Accrington Stanley 3-1 Cheltenham Town
In the opposition’s dugout:
John Doolan has been in charge of the ‘Owd Reds for almost two years now, after being handed the permanent role in March 2024.
The 57-year-old only added one new face to the squad in the January window, with striker David Abimbola signing from League One side Bolton Wanderers on loan until the end of the season.
The 18-year-old has made three appearances off the bench for Stanley since his arrival in Lancashire, with Doolan admitting the club had been watching for him a while, saying “David is totally different to what we have”.
The Stanley manager knows it’s going to be a tough challenge against the Bees this evening, especially working with a depleted squad due to injuries and suspensions.
One to watch:
Accrington Stanley secured the services of experienced EFL striker Paddy Madden on loan from fellow League Two side Chesterfield in the summer.
The 35-year-old has scored 240 goals across his 18-year career to date, with his ability to find space in the penalty box to create chances making him a key asset to any club who have been lucky to have him on their books.
His football intelligence is also a huge asset of his, with three promotions under his name, one with Yeovil Town and two with Stockport County.
In a Stanley side that sit 16th for goals scored this campaign, The striker has scored six, more than any other teammate.
Last time the two sides met:
Three points stayed in the capital when the ‘Owd Reds visited The Hive in October.
Josh Woods’ looping header for the visitors was the first chance of the afternoon, but it landed in the hands of Cieran Slicker, before momentum swung in the Bees’ favour and Idris Kanu and Callum Stead had chances to give Barnet the lead, with the latter finding the back of the net shortly after.
Stanley responded with a couple of close opportunities, but a well-worked strike from Ryan Glover sealed victory in the second-half for the Bees.
COYB