An inspired half time double substitution by Grimsby Town manager Russell Slade led his side to a cheeky 1-0 victory over Barnet at Underhill.
The goal came just three seconds after the restart in very bizarre circumstances. Straight from kick off Rob Jones' ball was somehow diverted over Scott Tynan and into the net by the newly introduced Calvin Andrew.
The goal did not really register to anyone at Underhill that day but still had dramatic effects as Barnet failed to get back in the game and fell to their first defeat of the season. Late chances from Liam Hatch, Anthony Charles and Giuliano Grazioli were not enough as to be fair, the Grimsby back line dealt with the Bees efforts with ease.
The substitution saw the introduction of Andrew and new strike partner Martin Gritton who also proved to be a right handful as the inspired change gave the previously unadventurous visitors a new dimension. Barnet on the other hand lost their way as the game went on and influential players such as Dwane Lee and Dean Sinclair started to miss place their passes
Not until the final ten minutes did Barnet really threaten Town but the visitors were up to the challenge and the giant Rob Jones and co comfortably dealt with the aimless long balls. Grazioli had a headed effort but John McDermott was on hand at the back post to head off the line. Damian Batt looked lively when introduced; supplying Graz for the header and also setting up Hatch but the tall striker prodded his effort wide.
First team regulars Sinclair and Tynan were welcomed back after the midweek cup exploits at Bristol City as both Ross Flitney and Ben Bowditch were dropped to the bench.
Barnet started the game brightly but were content to probe away at the Grimsby defence without ever really threatening. The visitors had done their homework and limited the Bees danger men Sinclair and Bailey to little time and space on the ball. Richard Graham had a couple of half chances early on but failed to get any power behind both attempts. Grazioli almost got in on two occasions but firstly with Simon King's ball then with Ian Hendon's well-worked free kick, the striker just failed to connect.
It took the visitor's 26 minutes to register their first attempt of the afternoon and it was a poor one at that. Simon Ramsden's cross was meant for Andy Parkinson but the player put no real effort in under the challenge of Graham. Michael Reddy then had a sniff of goal but scuffed his shot.
Barnet's best chance of a uninspiring half fell to the skipper, running onto Sinclair's pass he took his shot early and almost caught Steve Mildenhall off guard but the Grimsby goalkeeper was up to the challenge and palmed away.
Barnet lost all their rhythm in the second half as the visitor's grew in confidence after the half time changes and early goal. Barnet's response was to force a flurry of corners but to no avail.
The introduction of Hatch, Lee Roache and Batt had little effect as Barnet ran out of ideas and never really looked like getting back into the game even despite Paul Bolland's dismissal for a second yellow card in the dying stages.
So what went wrong then after four wins on the bounce? Is it the formation, or has three games in the space of a week caught up with Paul Fairclough's men? There did look to be a few tired legs out there today as although the Bees were caught out with a freak goal they never stepped up a gear and never really looked like scoring themselves. An afternoon to forget I think, let us move onto Monday!
Daniel Fox
