MATCH PREVIEW | SALFORD CITY

The Bees kick off their 2026/27 Sky Bet League Two campaign tomorrow at The Hive Stadium as they host Peter Cklamovski’s Salford City in a 3pm kick-off.

Barnet:

Dean Brennan’s Bees started their competitive campaign against newly-promoted League One side Cambridge United in the first round of the Carabao Cup at the Cledara Abbey Stadium.

Despite taking the lead in the tie, the Bees’ Carabao Cup journey came to an end after Cambridge United came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory.

The Bees started brightly, with Gallagher and Lakin both going close, while Danny Collinge had a goal ruled out for offside. Cox also made several saves to keep Cambridge at bay, and the sides went into half-time level at 0-0.

Barnet took the lead shortly after the restart when Kabongo Tshimanga finished after efforts from Adam Senior and Idris Kanu had been cleared off the line.

However, the advantage lasted just three minutes before Ben Knight equalised. Isaac Heath then put Cambridge ahead to complete the turnaround.

The Bees pushed for an equaliser, with Cox denying Kelly Ruddock Mpanzu and Jake Eastwood saving a late free-kick from Tom Knowles.

Barnet thought they had found a late leveller in added time, but the goal was ruled out for a foul, confirming Cambridge’s place in the second round and ending the Bees’ Carabao Cup run.

Barnet’s last five results:

Cambridge United 2-1 Barnet FC (Carabao Cup)

Barnet FC 1-1 Bromley (Pre-Season Friendly)

Barnet FC 0-0 MK Dons (Pre-Season Friendly)

Barnet FC 1-2 Oxford United (Pre-Season Friendly)

Barnet FC 2-2 Luton Town (Pre-Season Friendly)

Salford City:

Peter Cklamovski takes charges of Salford City for his first competitive campaign with The Ammies, as they make the trip to North-West London to face Dean Brennan’s Bees.

Salford City finished 4^th in the 2025/26 campaign, gaining 81pts and went on to beat Grimsby Town across two leagues to secure a spot in last season’s Play Off Final, where they fell to a 3-0 defeat to Notts County.

In their preparation for the upcoming season, they’ve welcomed some new faces to the team, with the likes of Luke Molyneux joining from League One side Doncaster Rovers and Macaulay Langstaff making the switch from Championship side Millwall.

The Ammies’ competitive start to the new campaign came in a first round Carabao Cup tie to fellow League Two opposition Shrewsbury Town at The Peninsula Stadium.

After 90 minutes of football, the game ended with both teams level at 1-1, after goals from Kyrell Malcolm and Shrewsbury’s Josh Davison sent the game to penalties, where The Ammies fell short to a 4-3 defeat on penalties.

Salford City’s last five results:

Salford City (3) 1-1 (4) Shrewsbury Town (Carabao Cup)

Salford City 2-2 Bradford City (Pre-Season Friendly)

Carlisle 0-2 Salford City (Pre-Season Friendly)

Salford City 3-2 Dundee United (Pre-Season Friendly)

United of Manchester 1-4 Salford City (Pre-Season Friendly)

In the dugout:

Peter Cklamovski became Salford City’s manager in June 2026, taking over from Karl Robinson. This will also be his first season in charge of a Club in League Two and in England.

Cklamovski is best known for spending around 15 years working alongside Ange Postecoglou, including with Australia and Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos, where they won the J1 League title in 2019. He later managed Shimizu S-Pulse, Montedio Yamagata and FC Tokyo in Japan before becoming head coach of Malaysia in 2025.

One to watch:

Former Bee Ade Olowu will be making the trip back down to The Hive Stadium this Saturday after he joined The Ammies at the start of last season.

During his two-year spell with the Bees he went on to make 67 appearances, proving to be a big impact in Dean Brennan’s side, as he sat in the Bees’ backline with the likes of former teammates Danny Collinge and Nik Tavares.

During the Bees’ title- winning season, he scored six goals in 36 league appearances, including a winning goal at Gander Green Lane where the Bees went on to beat Sutton United 3-1 in their journey to win the National League title.

In the summer of 2025, Ade made the switch up North to link up with The Ammies for the new season, where he went on to make 43 appearances in his first season across all competitions, scoring six goals from the back, including a winning goal in the club’s first leg tie at Grimsby Town where they won 2-1.

Last time these two sides met:

The Bees last faced Salford back in March in matchday 35 of the 2025/26 League Two campaign, where The Ammies secured the three points against the Bees with a 2-0 win at The Peninsula Stadium.

Barnet had chances to take control early on, but Salford created the clearer opportunities and eventually took the lead through Ron Longelo in the 39th minute.

Matt Butcher then doubled the advantage just before half-time.

Salford continued to threaten after the break, hitting the post and forcing former loanee Cieran Slicker into a close-range save.

Barnet made several changes in an attempt to get back into the game, but struggled to find a way through the Salford defence.

Despite late pressure, Barnet could not find a response and Salford saw out the game to secure all three points.

Dean Brennan’s Bees will be looking for a strong start to their League Two campaign this season, with the hope of taking all three points from their opening fixture.

COYB