The Bees make the short journey to the Cledara Abbey Stadium tomorrow to face Cambridge United in matchday 16 of the 2025/26 Sky Bet League Two campaign.
Barnet:
The Bees added a point to the board following a 2-2 stalemate with league-favourites MK Dons at the Hive on Saturday.
After a bright start to the game and close goalscoring opportunities for both Callum Stead and Idris Kanu, a well-worked corner routine delivered by Nnamdi Ofoborh found the head of Adam Senior who nodded home to give the home side an early advantage with 13 minutes on the clock.
Our lead was doubled when Ryan Glover went down and won a penalty, with Mark Shelton stepping up to calmly convert his second spot-kick of the season past Connal Trueman in the MK Dons net.
The Bees continued to dominate the first 45, but the Buckinghamshire side fought back and scored minutes before the break with Jack Sanders sending a left-footed shot past Cieran Slicker following a corner.
Shelton struck early in the second-half from an indirect free-kick, but the referee disallowed the goal, which gave Milton Keynes the momentum they needed to find a way back into the game, with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing getting the equaliser.
Despite increasing the tempo in the latter stages of the half, the Bees were unable to find a winner and the spoils were shared.
Barnet’s last five results:
Barnet FC 2-2 MK Dons
Fleetwood Town 2-1 Barnet FC (FA Cup R1)
Barrow AFC 2-2 Barnet FC
Barnet FC 3-2 Cambridge United (Vertu Trophy)
Barnet FC 0-1 Notts County
From the dugout:
Connor Smith’s pre-match interview can be viewed HERE!
Cambridge United:
The U’s currently sit one spot below the Bees and on the same number of points after 15 games, with six wins, four draws and five losses, with Barnet sharing the same record heading into tomorrow’s tough test.
Cambridge’s form at home has been strong, with only one loss at the Cledara Abbey Stadium and the Bees’ away form see them six unbeaten. on the road, so the game has all the makings for an exciting tie.
The U’s hold one of the best defensive records in the division, with only Gillingham and Oldham Athletic conceding less goals in the opening third of the campaign.
The Cambridgeshire outfit played out their second goalless stalemate of the season last time out, with neither them or their hosts Salford City finding the back of the net in what was largely an uneventful 90 minutes at the Peninsula Stadium.
With both sides creating few clear-cut chances in the opening 45, James Brophy came close on a couple of occasions after the restart for the visitors, but the U’s came the closest when Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu rattled the woodwork on the 70th minute with a volley.
At home, Cambridge have scored 11 and only conceded four and have proven to be a tough team to break down, especially when on home soil.
Cambridge United’s last five results:
Salford City 0-0 Cambridge United
Cambridge United 1-0 Brighton and Hove Albion u21s (Vertu Trophy)
Cambridge United 3-0 Chester FC (FA Cup R1)
Notts County 2-0 Cambridge United
Barnet FC 3-2 Cambridge United (Vertu Trophy)
In the opposition dugout:
Neil Harris replaced Garry Monk as U’s manager in February this year, and despite winning his first two games in charge, only three draws and two wins followed until the end of the season and Cambridge suffered relegation from League One.
The 44-year-old’s first experience in the coaching world was with League One side Millwall, where he spent a total of six years, which began as numerous interim stints.
In his first full season with the Lions, Harris led the London club to the play-off final, where they lost to Barnsley, before achieving promotion to the Championship via the play-offs the following campaign.
Harris then took Cardiff City to the play-off semi-final during his two-year spell in Wales, before taking the reigns at League One Gillingham where he suffered relegation to the fourth tier.
His first spell at Cambridge followed, before returning for a short stint at Millwall, helping the club record 26 points from 13 games, allowing them to climb out of the relegation zone to finish a respectable 13th in the 2023/24 campaign.
One to watch:
A player to watch for the U’s will be forward James Brophy, who’s been at the club since the summer of 2021, joining the club when they had achieved promotion to League One in the previous campaign, and he has made over 220 appearances since, scoring ten goals and providing 22 assists.
The 31-year-old Brentford academy graduate spent a few years in non-league, before beginning his EFL journey with Swindon Town ten years ago.
Three years spent with the Robins were followed by four with Leyton Orient, where he helped the O’s achieve promotion to League two at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.
Brophy is incredibly versatile and has been a mainstay in Cambridge United’s midfield since his arrival, with his speed, agility and technical ability making him a tricky attacker to come up against.
Last time the two sides met:
The sides met in the Vertu Trophy group stage last month, with the Bees coming out on top. A 2nd- minute Lee Ndlovu goal and late strikes from Britt Assombalonga on his Bees’ debut and Emmanuel Osadebe saw Barnet record a 3-2 win over the U’s.
Last time out in the league at the Cledara Abbey Stadium, the Bees fell to a 1-0 defeat away from home in the 2017/18 League Two campaign, but the reverse fixture saw two goals from Mauro Vilhete and one from Shaquille Coulthirst give Barnet a 3-1 win at the Hive.
COYB