A 4-1 defeat at the hands of one of the teams from the lower reaches of League 2 left Barnet boss Paul Fairclough fuming. His anger was caused by the strange desire he had seen his team display only when they were three goals down and were playing with ten men following the second half dismissal of Joe O'Cearuill.
Liam Hatch regained his place in the line up after serving his one match suspension at the expense of Giuliano Grazioli who dropped to the bench. Joe O'Cearuill shook off a heavy cold which earlier in the week looked as if it would make him unfit for duty.
Ben Wright, Lincoln's bean pole striker and one time potential Bee signing, made his intentions clear when in the 5th minute his strong header from a free kick flashed just wide of it's target.
On 9 minutes a powerful surge into Barnet territory by the Lincoln wide man Dany N'Guessan saw his cross evade the Bee defence and fall invitingly for Wright. Despite his effort being parried by Lee Harrison it still managed to cross the line to give the home side the boost of an early lead.
Adam Birchall had a good chance to level the scores on 28 minutes after a Michael Leary shot rebounded into his path only for the Lincoln keeper Ben Smith to pull out a fine save. Moments later matters were to worsen for the Bees when a mild challenge by Ismail Yakubu on Wright prompted referee David Foster to award a harsh penalty which was duly converted by Jamie Forester.
Immediately after the interval Barnet went about the difficult job of forcing their way back into the match with renewed purpose but after only 5 minutes of the half Lincoln established an unassailable three goal advantage when swift inter passing saw the unmarked Louis Dodds with the ball in space and he finished assuredly, despatching the ball beyond the dive of Harrison.
With 11 minutes of the half gone Barnet were reduced to ten men when O'Cearuill crudely halted Lee Frecklington's goal ward surge, yet bizarrely this heralded a period in which Barnet enjoyed some dominance. The home crowd, despite the score line grew a mite restless and shots rained in on the Lincoln goal, the home keeper later being awarded the man of the man accolade.
On 59 minutes Birchall reduced the deficit when he pounced and shot from an acute angle and briefly the odd notion that Barnet could possibly get on level terms saw the Bees attack with determination and purpose that had been absent earlier.
Wright scored his second in time added on to give the home side a 4-1 victory and perhaps exaggerate the difference between the teams but there was no doubting that Barnet's inability to step up to the plate until well into the second half had made the task of getting anything out of this game a tall order.
David Bloomfield
