Barnet 0 Kettering 2

Nationwide Conference

Bees' boss Martin Allen said he had no complaints after seeing his side squander numerous opportunities against relegated Kettering.

Despite dominating the game from start to finish Barnet's lack of potency in the final third cost them dear and Toby Oshitola's chip which hit the bar late bar on was the closest they came to scoring.

In a poor first half near misses from Junior Agogo and Ismail Yakubu should have resulted in the Bees taking an early lead but a calamitous defensive mix-up between on-loan Matt Langston and Yakubu gifted the visitors an unlikely lead.

With 27 minutes gone, Danny Naisbitt completely missed a Brett Solkhon cross and as Yakubu and Langston both went to clear, the latter inexplicably headed into his own net.

Yakubu almost made amends when a header of his own was cleared off the line soon after and when Fraser Toms shot straight at Ian Bowling the writing should have been on the wall for the home support.

Nine minutes after the break Toms was again in the thick of the action when he contrived to miss a tap-in from five yards out following tenacious play from Neil Midgley.

Midgley himself had appeals for a penalty turned down eight minutes later but the afternoon was about to get worse for the home team.

A long raking pass from Alex Revell found its way to Lee Clarke and his bullet-like shot cannoned of both posts and into the net.

The Bees poured forward in an attempt to get back into the game and when Oshitola hit the woodwork it seemed they might get some reward. Their efforts were assisted when Craig Norman was harshly sent off for fouling Toms but when Lee Flynn, Craig Pope and Langston went agonisingly close it was clear it was not to be the Bees' day.

Speaking after the game, caretaker boss Allen said: "They got their bodies in the way of everything and it's up to us to break them down which we couldn't quite do.

"The goalkeeper made reflex saves and perhaps if we had a bit more quality in the box then we would have done it. But no complaints, they kept going right till the end even when it was two nil."

BARNET (4-4-2): Naisbitt; Pluck (Oshitola 69), Butters, Langston, Flynn; Gower, Rowland (Pope 82), Yakubu, Toms; Midgley, Agogo. Subs not used: Cashman, Bai Mass, Lopez. Man-of-the-match: Junior Agogo. Attendance: 1198.

April 12, 2003 21:30