After the disappointment of seeing Saturday’s game against Dagenham postponed, County are back in action on Tuesday night as we host struggling Barnet, in a 7pm kick-off at Edgeley Park.
That postponement at the weekend, due to a positive Covid test in the Dagenham playing squad, meant we were denied the chance to close the gap on the top three after dropped points for both Hartlepool and Torquay.
We also slipped below Wrexham after their victory against Weymouth, albeit with two games in hand on the Welsh side. We currently sit in fifth, ten points behind league leaders Sutton United.
Barnet meanwhile were under new management on Saturday, as Paul Fairclough became the third man to take charge of the Bees this season, and the new man helped steer them to a 2-2 draw away at Bromley in an entertaining clash that saw both sides reduced to ten men.
Despite that credible point, the side remain rooted in the relegation zone, above only Dover in the table and 11 points adrift of King’s Lynn and Weymouth immediately above them.
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Since we last met:
An Alex Reid double back in December was enough to secure a 2-1 win at the Hive against ten man Barnet, and lift County to fifth in the league table on a cold Tuesday night in North London.
For Barnet, that result extended their winless run to eight games, and an embarrassing 6-0 defeat at the hands of Chesterfield the following Saturday spelt the end for manager Peter Beadle, who was sacked after just four wins from his 16 games in charge, leaving them 20th in the table.
Replacing him was former Solihull Moors boss and ex-County ‘keeper Tim Flowers, brought in having left Macclesfield Town in the Summer following their sad financial demise.
Unfortunately for Flowers he was unable to turn around the side’s steep decline, losing ten of his eleven league games in charge to leave the team cut adrift in the relegation zone, with his only win in that time coming against FC Halifax last month.
Heavy defeats to Dover, Yeovil and King’s Lynn Town meant the marking was on the walls for the former Blackburn man, and he too was relieved of his duties last week after a 2-0 defeat at Wrexham.
Caretaker boss Fairclough is now incredibly in his fifth spell as Barnet manager, four of them in a caretaker capacity having first joined the Club as far back as 2004, leading them to the Conference title just a year later.
With relegation now looking unlikely in the National League this season however, due to the National League North and South divisions being null and voided, the pressure, to an extent, is off the Bees for the remainder of the season.
After twice coming from behind to claim a point against play-off chasing Bromley at the weekend, despite missing top scorer JJ Hooper, they will be looking to build on that with another positive performance on Tuesday, as they face the daunting task of climbing the league table.
Match Stats:
- In 14 previous meetings between the two sides, we have the head to head advantage with six wins to Barnet’s four. We are unbeaten in our last five league games against the Bees.
- Barnet have the worst defensive record in the National League, having conceded 61 goals in their 25 league games so far this season.
- County will be looking to win back-to-back home games for the first time since October.
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