The Barnet FC Youth Team stretched their unbeaten run to eight matches on Saturday with a hard-fought 2-2 draw away to Southend United.

After a slow start Barnet began to grow into the game with Wes Fonguck and Nana Kyei pulling the strings in midfield during one of the most encouraging performances of the season that saw both excellent defensive work rate and fantastic attacking play.

However, the prolific Bees were lacking their usual killer instinct in the final third as the first half ended goalless.

They were then stunned five minutes after the interval as Southend took the lead thanks to a wonder strike from their left-back that found the top right-hand corner of the net from all of 35 yards.

Barnet fell further behind on the hour mark when a mis-hit shot across the face of goal fell to the feet of their striker who duly dispatched the chance to make it 2-0 to the home side.

However, Barnet refused to lie down and quickly rallied. A double substitution saw both Shane Cojocarel and Brian Testolin come on and it was their introduction that would help to change the course of the game.

Cojocarel would go on to pull a goal back on 80 minutes, beating his marker one-on-one before finishing left-footed low into the bottom-right corner following an excellent team move that involved both Elliott Harris and Mathew Stevens.

Barnet then snatched the point that their efforts deserved with a dramatic equaliser in the fourth of six added minutes at the end of the game. A quickly-taken free kick led to some excellent combination play between Harry Taylor and Fonguck who set up Elliott Harris to stroke the ball beyond the keeper and into the net.

The result means that Barnet remain on top of the table, three points clear of second-placed MK Dons who visit The Hive on Saturday in a game that kick off at 10:30.