‘We’re the famous Barnet FC and we’re off to Wembley.’
I missed out on my intended match today and it wasn’t even my fault. After turning down the opportunity to go and
see Barnsley v Burton (the good folk of Barnsley can’t be ar5ed to turn out for
cup ties, so why should I?)…it turned out someone couldn’t make it so I was
going after all. So, up early, showered
and sat there in my Reds’ shirt eating breakfast, I got the call: Andy didn’t
have the spare ticket, he’d already given it to Phil; A quick internet search and a single to
Sheffield (Andy had the return, don’t ask) was £71.50. No thanks.
Back to Plan A – Barnet v Wycombe.
When I saw the draw, I thought this looked tasty – top of the Conference v top of Division 4. And it turned out to be good nourishment too, end to end, and were it not for the referee, it could have been even better. With the score at one-all and into first half injury time, Sam Togwell (scorer of the fastest goal I’ve ever seen at Oakwell) got his marching orders seemingly for making a perfectly good tackle. Cue chants of ‘Cheat cheat cheat’ against a referee who’d already made himself unpopular with a penalty decision best classed as ‘dubious’. Up stepped ex-Barnsley penalty poacher Paul Hayes to send the keeper the wrong way, just like he used to do with every penalty he ever scored for us. They look soft, but he knows what he’s doing, always seemingly having the bottle to wait for the keeper to dive before despatching it the other way.
Till then, Barnet had been leading 1-0, Akinde beating the offside trap to run clear and round the keeper. Another one-on-one chance was spurned for Barnet and Wycombe struggled with the ball over the top. And the one through their defence. All in all, they were lucky not to be at least a couple down till the penalty decision when (Troy?) McClure did or didn’t dive – and it was right in front of me. Lots of arguing before Hayes did the biz.
2nd half, Barnet put up a fight, but once Wycombe went ahead (a
header off a corner…which possibly wasn’t a corner…it wasn’t their day) it was
over. To further rub salt into the
wounds, Wycombe then waltzed down the right and chipped a beautiful ball over
the keeper for a teammate to knock into an empty net. 1-3 and yet still time for the Barnet full
back to see red for a late lunge. Bit
needless, getting sent off in the closing moments with your team out, but there
it is. And did I mention a disallowed Barnet goal at 1-2? A outswinging corner went out of play before being headed in at the back stick. Why can't professional footballers keep a corner on the pitch? Careless.
With the rain lashing down I decided to pop into the clubhouse afterwards and what a fantastic place that was/is. It’s large, full of comfy chairs and sofas, has a variety of beers on tap, endless TV screens, pool table, 3 of those racing car computerised thingummyjigs you get in amusement arcades and has a view of the pitch (but presumably not during a game). But that makes me wonder: at what grounds CAN you drink beer within sight of the pitch? At Dulwich you can, at Barnsley you can’t. But where would Barnet stand? Yes, cos they’re ‘professional’, or ‘no’ cos they’re non-league?
I’d fully recommend a trip to Barnet and their new stadium (‘opened by Fabio Capello, England manager’ no less; whether that brings back good memories or bad, who’s to say?). It’s also only about 5/10 mins walk from the nearest tube (Canon Park, Jubilee Line) and you can’t miss the ground, since you pass it on the train. I don’t know the ins and outs of the ownership of the ground (and surrounding football fields) but it looks to me like Barnet have dropped on lucky with this one, given their earlier stadium tribulations and the ramshackle nature of Underhill. They have a 10 year lease on the stadium, albeit their wish is to return to the London Borough of Barnet. Understandable, but, like Wimbledon before them, does the council care enough to have them back? The stadium itself is very smart, one large seated stand, (East Stand) holding a couple of thousand, two small covered terraces and the ‘executive’ side, with a few hundred seats in front of the clubhouse. Tidy!
Attendance: 2410. Highest of the season?
Damage:
£17 ent (standing)
£3 programme
£4 hot dog (overpriced)
£4 Estrella
Tunes:
Today, I was digging into the letter ‘R’. Like Sesame Street, but with headphones.
Radiohead – Kid A
Rachel Unthank and the Winterset – The Bairns
Röyksopp – Melody A.M.
 |
| Welcome to The Hive! |
 |
| The all-in-one football facility. Perfection for Barnet? |
When I saw the draw, I thought this looked tasty – top of the Conference v top of Division 4. And it turned out to be good nourishment too, end to end, and were it not for the referee, it could have been even better. With the score at one-all and into first half injury time, Sam Togwell (scorer of the fastest goal I’ve ever seen at Oakwell) got his marching orders seemingly for making a perfectly good tackle. Cue chants of ‘Cheat cheat cheat’ against a referee who’d already made himself unpopular with a penalty decision best classed as ‘dubious’. Up stepped ex-Barnsley penalty poacher Paul Hayes to send the keeper the wrong way, just like he used to do with every penalty he ever scored for us. They look soft, but he knows what he’s doing, always seemingly having the bottle to wait for the keeper to dive before despatching it the other way.
 |
| I'll have that one. No, that one... |
Till then, Barnet had been leading 1-0, Akinde beating the offside trap to run clear and round the keeper. Another one-on-one chance was spurned for Barnet and Wycombe struggled with the ball over the top. And the one through their defence. All in all, they were lucky not to be at least a couple down till the penalty decision when (Troy?) McClure did or didn’t dive – and it was right in front of me. Lots of arguing before Hayes did the biz.
 |
| Hayes 'doing the biz'. |
 |
| Part stand, part exec box, part clubhouse. |
With the rain lashing down I decided to pop into the clubhouse afterwards and what a fantastic place that was/is. It’s large, full of comfy chairs and sofas, has a variety of beers on tap, endless TV screens, pool table, 3 of those racing car computerised thingummyjigs you get in amusement arcades and has a view of the pitch (but presumably not during a game). But that makes me wonder: at what grounds CAN you drink beer within sight of the pitch? At Dulwich you can, at Barnsley you can’t. But where would Barnet stand? Yes, cos they’re ‘professional’, or ‘no’ cos they’re non-league?
I’d fully recommend a trip to Barnet and their new stadium (‘opened by Fabio Capello, England manager’ no less; whether that brings back good memories or bad, who’s to say?). It’s also only about 5/10 mins walk from the nearest tube (Canon Park, Jubilee Line) and you can’t miss the ground, since you pass it on the train. I don’t know the ins and outs of the ownership of the ground (and surrounding football fields) but it looks to me like Barnet have dropped on lucky with this one, given their earlier stadium tribulations and the ramshackle nature of Underhill. They have a 10 year lease on the stadium, albeit their wish is to return to the London Borough of Barnet. Understandable, but, like Wimbledon before them, does the council care enough to have them back? The stadium itself is very smart, one large seated stand, (East Stand) holding a couple of thousand, two small covered terraces and the ‘executive’ side, with a few hundred seats in front of the clubhouse. Tidy!
Attendance: 2410. Highest of the season?
Damage:
£17 ent (standing)
£3 programme
£4 hot dog (overpriced)
£4 Estrella
 |
| Metal terracing, metal barriers. |
Tunes:
Today, I was digging into the letter ‘R’. Like Sesame Street, but with headphones.
Radiohead – Kid A
Rachel Unthank and the Winterset – The Bairns
Röyksopp – Melody A.M.
 |
| A minute's silence for Remembrance Day. |
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