This season’s Good Friday fixture sees league-leaders Bromley make the short journey to The Hive from South London.
The Bees recorded their second consecutive win against sides above them in the table, with Danny Colinge’s early second-half strike proving to be the match-winner against Neil Harris’ Cambridge United.
A first-half fueled by frustrating winds meant neither side registered a shot on target, with Mark Shelton’s deliveries from free-kicks and corners not amounting to anything and Collinge sending an effort over the bar.
A change of formation at half-time and the decision to go down the wide areas meant Barnet found a breakthrough after the restart, with a Shelton corner being flicked past U’s number one Jake Eastwood by our number four to give the Bees the lead.
An opportunity to double our lead minutes later went amiss when a mix-up in the visiting defence opened up a chance for the Bees to fire into an empty net, but after rounding the keeper, Callum Stead ran himself into trouble and the angle was too tricky for our number ten to execute his effort.
Cieran Slicker recorded clean sheet number 15 of the campaign, with the 23-year-old only really tested on one occasion in the second-half when he was forced to parry away a Glenn McConnell, on his way to hit the target set by the Bees’ goalkeeping union before the 2025/26 campaign got underway.
Barnet’s last five results:
Barnet FC 1-0 Cambridge United
MK Dons 1 – 3 Barnet FC
Crawley Town 1-1 Barnet FC
Barnet FC 1-2 Newport County
Salford City 2 – 0 Barnet FC
Bromley:
League-leaders since the final matchday of 2025, the Ravens have only lost on four occasions since the campaign kicked-off back in August.
Spanning 132 years, Bromley’s remarkable non-league journey came to an end when they beat Solihull Moors on penalties in the 2023/24 National League play-off final. Then followed a respectable 11th-place finish last season and fast forward almost 12 months, Andy Woodman’s side are now five points clear at the top with six games remaining.
The South London side’s impressive 21-game unbeaten run beaten was brought to an end when bottom of the league Barrow registered a shock result against the Whites at Holker Street.
Ashley Charles put the visitors ahead in the first-half when he curled home a free-kick to put Bromley in front, but a stunning second-half display by the Bluebirds, with goals coming from Josh Gordon and January signing Danny Rose to seal victory for the struggling Cumbria side, lifting them off rock bottom and two points above Harrogate Town.
Bromley’s last five results:
Barrow 2-1 Bromley
Bromley 1-0 Colchester
Newport County 0-1 Bromley
Bromley 1-0 Bristol Rovers
Grimsby Town 1-1 Bromley
In the opposition dugout:
Andy Woodman recently surpassed five years in charge of the Ravens and is on track to guide the club to their second promotion in two years come May.
The 54-year-old described his side’s performance away at Barrow as ‘uncharacteristic’ and the decision making in all areas of the pitch when they had the ball was wrong.
‘They’re fighting for their lives and we should be fighting for our lives to get across the line’ was the message the Ravens’ boss delivered in his post-match interview and there’s no doubt the club are extremely hungry to bounce back when they visit The Hive.
Woodman has been without his top goal-scorer Michael Cheek since facing Oldham Athletic in early March, with his side only scoring one goal in each fixture since the striker was sidelined.
Ones to watch:
The Ravens acquired the signature of former Bee and National League title-winner Nicke Kabamba in the summer, and the 33-year-old has racked up 12 goals so far during the campaign.
The right-footed forward hit a century of career goals at the back end of last year and is a physical presence in the penalty area, winning 5.8 ariel duels per 90 and 17.92 ground duels.
Last time the two sides met:
Bromley hosted the Bees back in August, with the Ravens coming away with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Michael Cheek and former Bee Nicke Kabamba.
It took over 30 minutes before either keeper were tested at Hayes Lane, but it was Grant Smith who was called into action first to tip a curling effort from Idris Kanu over the bar, but Cheek volleyed home from a free-kick to give the hosts the lead before the break.
The second-half saw chances for both sides, with Joe Hugill hitting the side netting and Oli Hawkins hitting the woodwork late on, but Kabamba came back to haunt the Bees as he made sure of victory for his new side in added time.
COYB