Brunt Brace sees Barnet rise to top of the league with 2-0 win over Woking
A slow first five minutes at The Hive culminated in Woking’s first corner of the game, with a Sam Habergham cross comfortably claimed by Laurie Walker.
Barnet’s second corner of the game was then headed away by Woking captain Scott Cuthbert, with the centre-back answering all of Barnet’s questions so far.
The 14th minute saw the tides turn Barnet’s way, with Sheffield United loanee, Zak Brunt, receiving the ball in space in the penalty area before firing home to put the home side 1-0 up, marking his first goal of the season.
A defensive mixup two minutes later resulted in a Woking corner, with an out-swinging cross again being claimed by Walker.
Woking lived up to their reputation as a well-organised side by the 20th minute, with Zak Brunt’s creativity proving useful in any attempts to break them down.
In the 22nd minute, summer signing Ben Coker drove a ball across the face of the goal which looked set for a Kabamba tap-in, though no contact was made.
Another spell of possession on the left-hand side saw Brunt float a ball towards Idris Kanu, whose half-volley went just wide of the post as the game approached its first drinks break.
Woking’s Rhys Browne nearly had the game level in the 32nd minute with an off-balanced shot looped onto the crossbar.
As half-time approached, the away side looked to take advantage of the physicality they’re known for, with a succession of long throws and crosses all dealt with by The Bees’ defence, namely Adebola Oluwo.
A turnover in the middle of the park resulted in Danny Collinge picking the ball up in space, who laid it off to Zak Brunt on the edge of the box. The 21-year-old attempted to curl it into the top right corner, with the shot hitting the post.
A set of long throws from Habergham were kept out by Barnet, marking the end of a scrappy first half.
HT: Barnet FC 1-0 Woking
Five minutes into the second half and Zak Brunt emphatically marked his name on the scoresheet for a second time of the afternoon. Receiving the ball on the left-hand side of the penalty area in quite a wide position, Brunt unleashed a beautifully curled finish into the far right corner to double the lead.
With Barnet now piling the pressure onto Woking, Brunt nearly completed the hat-trick. A deflected cross from Reece Hall-Johnson fell to Brunt inside the penalty area, in which he opted to take two touches before his shot, which gave the defenders time to block the effort.
After 10 minutes of the ball mostly in contention, Hall-Johnson flashed a cross into the box looking for Kabamba, with Woking’s Scott Cuthbert sliding in to deflect it. The ball did touch his arm, but it was deemed by the referee to be in a natural position. No penalty was given.
Danny Collinge made way for Ben Wynter in the 77th minute, marking Barnet’s first substitute of the afternoon, who slotted into right wing-back with Hall-Johnson moving across to centre-back.
Soon after, a Woking cross met their striker from a few yards out, but the header was tipped onto the bar by Laurie Walker with a magnificent display of reactions.
Finally, The Cards had a couple of half-hearted crosses into the box claimed by Walker, with the home side seeing out the 2-0 win as they claim top spot.
FT: Barnet FC 2-0 Woking
Barnet Starting XI: Walker, Hall-Johnson, Coker, Collinge (78’ Wynter), Kabamba, Kanu (67’ Gorman), Pritchard, Hartigan, Oluwo, Potter, Brunt (90+3’ Barratt)
Unused Substitute: Armstrong, Stead
Goals: Brunt 15’, 50’
Yellow: Hartigan
Attendance: 1,596 (358 away)
