The Bees make the longest journey of the season tomorrow, travelling approximately 556 miles to the SO Legal Stadium to face Barrow in Sky Bet League Two matchday 14.
Barnet FC:
Following a frustrating defeat at the hands of Notts County on Saturday at the Hive, The Bees bounced back with a positive result against Cambridge United in the Vertu Trophy.
Lee Ndlovu gave the Bees the perfect start to the tie, scoring inside two minutes. Our number nine capitalized on a defensive mistake from the U’s, when right-back Liam Bennett’s header fell to his feet and all he had to do was calmly slot the ball past Ben Hughes.
The visitors grew into the game and gave themselves a 2-1 lead before the break, with two set-pieces finding the back of the net.
It was new signing Britt Assombalonga who levelled the score for the Bees in the second 45. Romoney Crichlow threaded a wonderful ball through to our new number 27, who took a touch and struck it cleanly into the back of the net.
Just as everyone at the Hive thought the tie was going to a penalty shootout at the end of the 90, Assombalonga turned from goal-scorer to provider, assisting Emmanuel Osadebe with a back-heel to win the game for Dean Brennan’s side.
Barnet’s last five results:
Barnet FC 3-2 Cambridge United (Vertu Trophy)
Barnet FC 0-1 Notts County
Tranmere Rovers 0-2 Barnet FC
Barnet FC 2-0 Accrington Stanley
Barnet FC 1(5)-1(4) Brighton U21s (Vertu Trophy)
From the dugout:
Connor Smith’s pre-match interview can be viewed HERE!
Barrow:
The Bluebirds sit 15th in the league after 13 games, with five wins, two draws and six losses so far this campaign.
The Cumbria club have only won twice on home soil, but will be in high spirits following their win at top of the table Walsall last time out with ten men.
The visitors took the lead just after the half an hour mark, with Elliot Newby scoring from close-range to give the Bluebirds the lead at the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium.
Barrow were down to ten men after an hour in the game, with Lewis Shipley given his marching orders, but they coped well with one man less and doubled their lead in the 68th minute through substitute Charlie McCann.
Daniel Kanu closed the gap for the Saddlers and the hosts kept pushing till the final whistle, but Barrow left the West Midlands with the three points.
Barrow’s last five results:
Walsall 1-2 Barrow
Oldham 0-0 Barrow
Barrow 1-2 Tranmere Rovers (Vertu Trophy)
Barrow 0-0 Shrewsbury
Crawley Town 1-2 Barrow
In the opposition dugout:
Leading the Bluebirds this season is 41-year-old Andy Whing, who took charge in January 2025. Whing guided Barrow to a 3-0 win over Grimsby Town in his first game on the touch, before winning a further winning six, drawing seven and losing six games in the latter half of the 2024/25 campaign to steer the club away from the relegation zone.
Whing’s first couple of coaching roles saw him take on the role of Head Coach of Kidderminster U23s and assistant at Hereford, before his first Head Coach position at Banbury United, leading them to the Southern Premier Division Central title in the 2021/22 season.
The Birmingham-born coach then spent 18 months with Solihull Moors in the National League, before being approached by Barrow to take over from Stephen Clemmence.
One to watch:
With the Bluebirds’ top goal-scorer Lewis Shipley being unavailable due to suspension, a player to watch out for is goalkeeper Wyll Stanway.
The 24-year-old joined Barrow in the summer of 2024 to experience his first stint in the football league having spent the previous two years in non-league with Chester City.
The Barrow-born shot-stopper has kept clean sheets so far this campaign and has only conceded 13, with only Walsall, Gillingham and Oldham conceding in the opening stage of the season.
Stanway was the Starman in the club’s recent win away at the Saddlers, facing 24 shots, 11 of which were on target, and making a fine string of saves from close-range to ultimately send his side back to Lancashire with the three points.
Last time the two sides met:
The last time the two sides met was in the FA Trophy five years ago. The Bees came out on top at the Hive in a 3-0 win, with goals coming from Josh Walker, Simeon Akinola and Cheye Alexandar all within eight minutes in the second-half.
COYB