Barnet earned themselves a valuable point as they held top of the league Wrexham to a 0-0 draw at the Hive.
The Bees put on a positive performance and could have easily come away with all three points against the ten men.
Dean Brennan made wholesale changes following the draw at Maidstone, with Emmanuel Fernandez, Jerome Okimo, Sam Beard, Harry Smith and Jordan Cropper joining the eleven.
The first chance of the game fell to the visitors as Elliot Lee struck one from outside the area, but Laurie Walker in the Barnet goal was more than a match.
Wrexham began to dominate the affair, though Barnet stood to the task and looked to go long to De Havilland and Smith at every opportunity.
Another chance came Wrexham’s way when Ryan Barnett’s cross reached Paul Mullin, who was denied by Jerome Okimo’s late interception.
After a spell of sustained pressure, Barnet had a chance of their own when a powerful delivery by De Havilland was met by the knuckles of Ben Foster, marking the first sign of threat from the home side.
The Bees grew into the game, playing with more possession and using the wide areas. Another ball in by De Havilland from the right-hand side ricocheted around the Wrexham penalty area and fell just wide of the far post.
Barnet won the ball in Wrexham’s half through the tenacity of Idris Kanu, who then found De Havilland in space. His low cross was dangerous but cleared away by Tozer for Wrexham.
The resulting corner met the head of Fernandez whose effort was blocked and put behind. The Bees continued to cause trouble in the penalty area before Jordan Cropper superbly denied a threatening counter-attack.
The first half ended goalless, and Dean Brennan’s men could return to the dressing room with their heads held high following a very positive showing against the league-leaders.
HT: Barnet 0-0 Wrexham
The second half began with a Barnet free kick, which was invitingly knocked down by Fernandez but was dealt with by a panicked Wrexham defence.
Wrexham’s threat was still evident as Ryan Barnett’s cross from the byline caused confusion in the box, before Paul Mullin tried a spectacular bicycle kick that was easily claimed by Walker.
Wrexham’s Callum McFadzean then charged at the goalkeeper, looking to compete for the ball but was deemed to be late, resulting in a red card. Laurie Walker was able to continue after a long period of treatment.
Shortly after this a long throw by Cropper was cleared to the edge of the box, where Harry Pritchard was there to meet it on the volley but couldn’t keep his effort down.
The first substitution of the match saw the return of top scorer Nicke Kabamba following a short-term injury, replacing Emmanuel Fernandez.
A fantastic run from Barnett for Wrexham caused trouble for Barnett’s defenders, and a loose ball fell to Ollie Palmer, who was miraculously denied by Walker.
Kabamba then found himself in space down the other end. He shifted the ball onto his right foot and fired one low to the near post, but Foster made a smart save.
Barnet continued to pile on the pressure, and a cross from Jordan Cropper on the right-hand side met the head of Harry Smith, but his looping effort just didn’t dip enough.
Once again Kabamba proved a tough opponent for the Wrexham defence. Using his strength to shield the ball he turned outside the area and dragged a shot wide of the left-hand post.
Another change for Barnet saw Sam Beard replaced with Courtney Senior, a showcase of Dean Brennan’s intent to find a winning goal.
After some fine football down the right side a Danny Collinge cross reached Nicke Kabamba, who was denied at point blank range before Courtney Senior worked the space to have a go, only to see his effort blocked.
A flurry of crosses came in from Barnet’s dangerous right wing but the majority were cleared. One such clearance met Harry Pritchard, and his strike was a good one but couldn’t make it past Tozer.
Down the other end a Tozer throw-in unleashed chaos in the six-yard box. The ball bounced up in front of O’Connell at the back post, who somehow could only head straight at Walker.
Barnet were under pressure, but showed great threat on the counter when Idris Kanu was set free by a Walker roll-out. He drove at pace to the Wrexham penalty area where his cross was blocked.
Within seconds of this, a Jordan Cropper cross put Harry Smith almost on a plate, though the striker couldn’t convert the header. This was his last action before making way for David Moyo.
After neat football through the middle of the park Senior had the ball at his feet on the left of the penalty area. He crossed low and hard but just evaded Nicke Kabamba in the middle.
With time running out, De Havilland whipped a corner into the near post, where Kabamba again helped it on, but Ben Foster got there before anyone in an orange shirt and tipped it away to safety.
Deep into stoppage time another Cropper throw bounced in the box and fell kindly to Senior, who could only fire over, which proved to be the last chance for Barnet to find a winner.
Barnet are back in action at the Hive on Tuesday evening, hosting Solihull Moors at 7:45pm and looking to cement a place in the play-offs.
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Barnet Starting XI: Walker, Fernandez (Kabamba 58’), Potter, Collinge, Okimo, Kanu, Pritchard, Beard (Senior 70’), Smith (Moyo 81’), Cropper, De Havilland.
Unused Substitutes: Powell, Revan
Attendance: 5,265 (Away: 1,831)
