Since my last entry, there have been games aplenty. When Dorking Wanderers came around on Saturday 7th October, I was most excited. A new ground in a new place and an opportunity to record another victory in front of a healthy away following. After a pleasant and picturesque stroll from the station to the ground, I found a suitable place to stand in the slightly makeshift away end and it was time for the game to commence but it didn’t start well.
We found ourselves two down early on in the game and our performance was resemblant of that of Gateshead away in the FA Trophy semifinal last season. The away bar was a place of worried faces at half time but subconsciously, there was a belief that we could come back into it. Little did we know what awaited us.
We got back into the game through a smart finish by Nicke Kabamba, then Anthony Hartigan scored a delightful free kick, and the comeback was completed in a typical six-yard box melee by Danny Collinge. This sparked wild scenes in the well-populated away end and further reinforced the fact that this team is special.
After the game, the joy continued. Our walk back to the train station was an interesting one; along a dark canal guided by phone torches. Thankfully after making it back to the station, I experienced one of the great waits on a train platform that I’ve had. Surrounded by Bees fans with a buzz in the air and hope aplenty.
The following week saw a break from league football and a return to the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup. We were drawn away to Aveley of the National League South and having been kindly offered a lift, I went to the game and enjoyed it despite the fact that we contrived to throw away a 2-0 lead and were therefore forced into a replay the following Tuesday.
The replay was simple enough; Kabamba scored a hat-trick and Pritchard scored a header too. It was a cold night in front of a sparse crowd but nonetheless, I enjoyed it and good to see us scoring so freely.
On Saturday 21st October, Maidenhead United came to town as the National League roadshow continued and we raced into a 1-0 lead through a wonder goal by Idris Kanu. It felt as if we could run rampant, however Maidenhead equalized and then went ahead. This was frustrating, infuriating and because of the position we’re in, left me catastrophizing about our title hopes.
Thankfully, soon after half time, Callum Stead equalized, and the hope returned. This preceded wave after wave of attack and endless possession until our captain, Dale Gorman scored in the 91st minute and prompted more jubilant scenes.
It was a proper game of football; inclement weather, muddy wet pitch, full throttle action and chaos aplenty with the visitors receiving three red cards and our winning goal having to be awarded after the referee and linesman had a discussion. A refreshing antidote to the tactical battles fixated upon nowadays.
The following Tuesday saw the visit of Solihull Moors for what was at that stage, the biggest game of the season. Unlike the game against Maidenhead, it was tight, tense and lacked action. We had a lot of the ball but did little with it and were sucker punched by a goal from Solihull. However, this team are different and in the 97th minute, from a set piece, Gary Hooper levelled the game and preserved our unbeaten home record this season.
Again, there were scenes. I jumped the rows and banged my shoulder against the railings that you can hold onto to get up the stand. We even hit the post after that, a narrow miss. I’m not sure what I’d have done if it had gone in other than lose complete control of myself in sheer delirium.
As has become commonplace this season, I left the game exhausted and drained. We as a fan base are giving it everything this season and come 5pm at Kidderminster at home in May, the last game of the season, may be utterly spent. But I know I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The following Saturday was Oxford City away, a new ground for me and a new place largely too. After a crowded train ride and a cheap but cheerful Greggs lunch, my mate and I strolled down the side of a most picturesque canal before we jumped on the bus and headed to the ground. It was, to be quite frank, a bit shoddy; two cubicles in the men’s toilets causing a queue out the door, a barrier penning us Bees fans in and total separation from the rest of the stadium.
Mercifully, we won 2-0 through two goals from Callum Stead, both of them coming in front of a sizeable and loud away following. It was a professional win, the sort of thing you need when you have ambitions to win the title. Stead has and is proving to be a most shrewd signing and someone I very much love.
The weather was particularly inclement, but the win meant we all went home happy. After this came another respite in the form of Curzon Ashton away in the first round of the FA Cup. A game I did not attend but followed on Twitter. Pleasingly, we won 1-0 despite having ten men and our talisman, Nicke Kabamba bagged another goal.
Newport County awaits in the next round; we’re quietly knitting a cup run together and Newport is an eminently winnable game too. Wembley anyone?
Then came the big one, Chesterfield away, 1st vs second. I woke early and headed to the Hive to catch the supporters’ association coach. It was a pleasant enough journey despite the toilet door breaking halfway through. I arrived at a rather unexciting Proact stadium, surrounded by a Sainsbury’s, a Tesco’s and not much else.
But their catering was most satisfactory. The pie I consumed along with a pint of Stowfords cider was delicious and helped to quell the nerves. It was a joy to walk round the concourse, bump into so many familiar faces and have the feeling that this club is alive again after so many years residing in the wilderness. To have 664 of us there serves as yet another numerical reminder of just how far we’ve come.
Unfortunately, a first half of promise and goodness, missed chances cost us and we lost 4-2. The feeling of standing at the back of an away end watching us get pumped was one I hadn’t missed. It was a chastening game and one that brought the question of will we win the league into light more than ever?
However, I had a thoroughly good day and the first half alone sufficed as a reminder to me that it was a good team having an off day. For those of us experienced in watching the Bees, it was reminiscent of the games we’ve seen before therefore we were able to deploy gallows humour. Singing the Gary Hooper chant at 4-0 down, celebrating getting two late consolation goals and finally, joining in with the PA system playing ‘Don’t Look back in Anger’ by Oasis.
Singing that with a half-broken voice in a half-empty away end with several other Bees will go down as one of my favourite moments of the season and is quintessentially Barnet. What a football club we are.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said the following Saturday when we faced Gateshead at home.
Despite initial signs of good play, Gateshead dominated us for almost the entirety of the game and should have scored more than 2. We were porous going forward, slow on the ball and criminally susceptible at the back. This all occurred amidst the backdrop of Chesterfield losing 2-1 at Southend. A very Barnet afternoon in a season where they’ve been pleasingly rare.
Gateshead are a good side but frankly, we weren’t anywhere near good enough. Such a performance cannot be repeated, we’re still in this title race but perform like that and the Spireites will run away with it.
Mercifully, we’ve got Oldham at home on Wednesday night and then Wealdstone away on Saturday, two chances to rectify the wrongs of the last two games. Succinctly, its time to go on a winning run and quickly.
This feels like an important part of the season, time to return to our early season form. This is it now Bees.
You Bees x
N Rowland Sports Writer 
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