Barnet beat Altrincham 3-0, remaining league leaders
Barnet’s opening chance came in the 5th minute, with a free-kick on the edge of the box taken by Ben Coker. Heading for the top-right corner, the opposition goalkeeper just about made the save.
The resulting corner nearly led to a goal for Barnet. Coker looped the corner to the back post, headed goalwards by Adebola Oluwo, and was nearly tapped in by Nicke Kabamba during a goal-line scramble.
3 corners later, Danny Collinge finally made one count, heading home to put the Bees 1-0 up within 10 minutes.
Altrincham’s Ollie Crankshaw then made the away side’s first real chance, cutting in and shooting from the left wing, later to be collected by Laurie Walker.
Barnet responded quickly on the counter as Zak Brunt’s series of stepovers gave him space for a shot, but was saved by the keeper.
The cooling break then seemed to heat up Altrincham’s play, with Danny Collinge’s last-ditch sliding tackle preventing a goalscoring opportunity for Crankshaw.
Barnet then took control of the game, keeping possession until some tight-spaced trickery from Brunt led to a handball in the box. After the referee pointed to the spot, Harry Pritchard stepped up. The penalty was not converted though- Pritchard’s shot into the bottom right was saved comfortably by Ethan Ross.
Play then stopped due to an injury to Altrincham’s most dangerous player, Ollie Crankshaw, who was carried down the tunnel.
With four minutes left until half-time, Dale Gorman nearly put Barnet 2-0 up, hitting the crossbar with a thundering half-volley on the edge of the box.
Nicke Kabamba replicated this a minute later. A cross from Ben Coker was headed by Barnet’s number nine, skimming the crossbar as it went over the bar.
After eight minutes of added time and the half-time break, chants of “Off! Off! Off!” could be heard from the Barnet fans after Lewis Banks committed what they thought should have been a second yellow card. The resulting free-kick from the foul, yet again, nearly put the home side 2-0 up, with the goalscorer Collinge nearly scoring a second header.
An uneventful first 10 minutes of the second half ended with a beautiful phase of play, featuring Zak Brunt at the epicentre of one-touch passing Barcelona would have admired.
In the 64th minute, Harry Pritchard looked to make up for his penalty miss with a well-struck shot from outside the box, unfortunately saved by the keeper. Barnet somehow remained only 1-0 up.
The home side finally got what they deserved after combination play in the box saw Collinge assist Brunt, who slotted the ball to the goalkeeper’s right, doubling their lead.
In the 77th minute, Idris Kanu received a big cheer from the fans, coming off the bench again as he recovers from an injury against Dagenham and Redbridge.
As the full-time whistle approached, the game seemed all but over, with Barnet still pressing high and forcing mistakes from Altrincham whilst searching for their third.
One of the last chances of the game from substitute Marvin Armstrong led to a corner, ending the game on a high as Nicke Kabamba tapped the ball into an empty net.
In the final minute, Barnet fans would be encouraged if they overheard the words of Brennan from the sidelines, shouting “We want more goals” when Laurie Walker was taking more time than needed to pick the ball up.
The referee finally put Altrincham out of their misery, ending the tie 3-0 to the home side, who head up North to play Rochdale next Saturday.
Starting XI: Walker, Coker, Collinge, Okimo, Gorman (79′ Kanu), Kabamba, Pritchard (82′ Armstrong), Hartigan, Wynter (60′ Hall-Johnson), Oluwo, Brunt
Unused Substitutes: Stead, Potter
Goals: Collinge 10′, Brunt 67′, Kabamba 90+3′
Attendance: 1,676 (102 away)
