A second-half strike from Ollie Hawkins made all the difference at Whaddon Road this afternoon as the Bees made it two wins from two on the road, in a performance full of grit and determination from the visitors.
Going into the tie, Cheltenham sat bottom of the Sky Bet League Two table after four matches, with the Bees having secured their first victory of the campaign on Tuesday night away at Swindon.
The opening minutes of the tie were scrappy, with both sides trying to find their feet.
The game was disrupted early on with a clash of heads between Bees’ captain Anthony Hartigan and Liam Kinsella for the Robins.
The first real chance of the game fell for the hosts, with Ethan Archer able to drive through the midfield with the ball, but his effort glanced wide of the post.
With just over 15 minutes on the clock, it looked like the Bees were 1-0 up through Hawkins, but his effort from close-range was swept off the line by Josh Day in the Cheltenham goal.
The Bees then enjoyed a period of the game with plenty of the ball and Day was called into action again, this time to parry away a powerful effort from Callum Stead on the right-hand side.
Another chance fell for Barnet’s number 12 as the first half continued, with Mark Shelton finding him in plenty of space in the box and playing the ball out to him, but Hawkins’ effort was frustratingly off target.
Half-Time: Cheltenham Town 0-0 Barnet FC
Dean made a double change early in the second 45, replacing Anthony Hartigan and Ryan Galvin with Nnamdi Ofoborh, who returned from a one-game suspension and Tuesday night’s goal scorer Emmanuel Osadebe.
With just over an hour gone, Hawkins gave the Bees the lead. An initial Shelton free-kick deflected out for a corner, before the next corner was latched onto by the number 12, who volleyed it into the back of the net.
Another double change came for the visitors, with Lee Ndlovu and Dennis Adeniran coming on in place of goal scorer Hawkins Callum Stead.
The Bees were down to ten men with ten minutes to go until normal time, when Osadebe saw red for a challenge.
Idris Kanu couldn’t continue, with Kane Smith coming on as a late replacement with 86 minutes on the clock.
Ofoborh caused all sorts of issues for the hosts in the final third, with a powerful effort having to be carried away by Day.
Eight minutes were added at the end-of the second half, and despite a Robins’ effort stinging the hands of Cieran Slicker, the Barnet backline were able to keep the late Cheltenham at bay and see out the victory.
Full-Time: Cheltenham 0-1 Barnet FC
The Bees return to the Hive next week for the visit of Colchester United.
Line-up: Slicker, Galvin (Osadebe, 52), Collinge, Senior, Stead (Adeniran, 73), Kanu (Smith, 86), Hawkins (Ndlovu, 73), Glover, Hartigan (Ofoborh, 52’), Shelton, Kensdale
Goals: Hawkins (62’)