The minute's silence, held before the match in recognition of the three recent deaths that have affected Barnet FC and it's supporters, was impeccably observed and credit must go to the travelling Grimsby Town fans for fully playing their part.
The Bees line-up featured the returning Josh Wright from injury, Michael Leary retaining his place in midfield with Ashley Carew, available again after suspension, being named as one of the five substitutes. Sagi Burton had shaken off any injury doubts from the Shrewsbury game last weekend to maintain his record of starting every fixture this season.
This was a disappointing performance by the Bees and the score-line does not flatter the visitors, yet the Barnet display in the first half perhaps did not warrant the two goal deficit that they started the second half with.
In the second period Grimsby defended in numbers, were well organised and with Barnet pushing men forward in a calculated gamble to get back into the game, the visitors were well positioned to mount dangerous breakaways, which they did frequently.
Neal Bishop could have given Barnet an early lead. He shot over from the edge of the box in the second minute and this set the tone for rest of the afternoon. Half chances, good chances did present themselves during the 90 minutes but the Mariners keeper Gary Montgomery put in a faultless display and the Bees finishing was less than clinical.
The powerful presence of the old-school Grimsby centre-forward and skipper Gary Jones was the cornerstone on which the visitors built this victory. He held the ball up well, was strong in the air and along side him the more youthful and mobile Danny North made for a potent pairing.
In was North that broke the deadlock in the 10th minute when from a corner, slack marking allowed him an opportunity to stab the ball past Lee Harrison. The visitors established a two goal lead just before half time when North latched onto a misplaced pass, outpaced the Bees defence and confidently slotted to ball into the net. It was always gong to be a tall order now for Barnet to take something from this game.
At the back Grimsby featured two very recent loan signings in Sam Hird and Rob Atkinson. Atkinson in particular at centre-back had an impressive game, nullifying much that came his way.
Early in the second period Carew was introduced to the fray and his performance on the right flank was one cause for optimism. Using his pace and athleticism he delivered a number of telling crosses and nearly scored with a header himself.
The second half saw the Bees huff and puff but never really look able to force their way back into the match. Very late on Andy Taylor gave Grimsby a three goal advantage, himself benefiting from another misplaced pass and no little confusion by the Bee's rearguard.
No doubt the better team won today, Grimsby, despite their low league status are running into form and it wouldn't be a surprise if they were soon to climb the table.
Today Barnet looked disjointed and somewhat lacking in confidence and with the stern test that Burton Albion will undoubtedly provide at the Pirelli in the Cup Bees boss Paul Fairclough will undoubtedly be looking for a significantly better performance next week.
David Bloomfield
