The points were shared at The Hive between Barnet and Crewe Alexandra, as Kabongo Tshimanga’s early strike was cancelled out by Owen Lunt.
Dean Brennan made one change to the side that visited Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, with Oli Hawkins getting his first start since Oldham Athletic away in October and Anthony Hartigan taking his place on the bench.
The Bees dominated the opening proceedings and were rewarded for the quick start when they took the lead with seven minutes on the clock. Oli Hawkins held the ball up well before feeding it into the feet of Kabongo Tshimanga who sent a lovely strike past Ian Lawlor to give us the early advantage.
Minutes later, Mark Shelton laid the ball into the path of Adam Senior who got his shot away, but the Alex shot-stopper was in a position to gather comfortably.
Ryan Glover delivered a dangerous ball into the area shortly after, but no amber and black shirt could get a connection on it to find the back of the net.
Cieran Slicker was called into action after 23 minutes, positioning himself to make a sharp stop to deny Reece Hutchinson for the visitor’s first chance of the afternoon midway through the first 45.
Nnamdi Ofoborh found Shelton inside the box as the Bees continued to put the pressure on the Alex, but with not enough power on the strike, it was comfortably gathered by Lawlor.
With half an hour on the clock, Slicker made another excellent stop, this time to deny Josh March following a corner, bravely diving to his right to deny the Alex attacker from close range.
Crewe found an equaliser shortly after, with a team move finished off by Owen Lunt who slotted the ball past Slicker to level proceedings.
The visitors continued to grow into the game for the remainder of the half, with Adrian Thibaut glancing the ball across goal, but none of his teammates were on hand to poke it home as they searched for a second before the break.
Crewe Charged towards goal once again as half-time loomed, but this time a crucial interception from Joe Kizzi allowed Slicker to get hold of the ball.
Danny Collinge found the ball at his feet following a poor clearance from the visitors, but he dragged his effort wide of the left post.
The Bees had another glorious chance in the first 45, with Idris Kanu picking the ball up inside his own half and launching a counter-attack. He drove through the middle, before getting a shot away, but his effort was deflected of a Crewe shirt and Hawkins had strayed offside for the rebound.
Half-time: Barnet FC 1-1 Crewe Alexandra
Dean Brennan made a substitution before the restart, with Anthony Hartigan replacing Hawkins.
The captain’s first contribution was to deliver a corner into the area. The ball fell short, but Collinge was able to connect with it but could only hook it over the bar.
There were huge shouts for a penalty when Hartigan played in a free-kick shortly after, but referee Peter Wright wasn’t interested.
The first chance of the second 45 for Crewe came ten minutes into the half, with the visitors progressing the ball into the Bees’ box, but Jack Powell lost his footing while trying to get the shot away.
Another early switch saw Philip Chinedu replace Adam Senior in the backline, followed by a double attacking change with 15 minutes to go, with Rhys Browne and Kane Smith replacing Kanu and Nik Tavares.
The Bees continued to dominate possession and Ofoborh was brought down and Barnet had a free-kick in a dangerous position, but Hartigan’s set piece was low and it ricocheted off the Crewe wall.
Our final change of the evening saw our number 28 replaced by Diallang Jaiyesimi and with four minutes added to the 90, the Bees were still in the ascendency and looked the team more likely to score a winner.
Smith had the best chance of the second 45 with just moments to, striking it agonisingly wide of the left post and the Bees were made to settle for the draw.
Full-time: Barnet FC 1-1 Crewe Alexandra
Line-up: Slicker, Collinge, Senior (Chinedu, 59’), Kanu (Browne, 76’), Hawkins (Hartigan, 45’), Glover, Shelton, Tshimanga, Tavares (Smith, 76’), Ofoborh (Jaiyesimi, 88’), Kizzi
Goals: Tshimanga (7’)
Attendance: 1908, with 213 visitors