Barnet 2-1 Wycombe

Wycombe fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat at Underhill last night thanks to a spirited second half comeback by Barnet who exploited the defensive mentality Wycombe employed in the second half.

It was a cool autumn night in North London and this was reflected in the attendance but an old ground under floodlights is where midweek games are at their best. The starting team was the same as the impressive victory over Bradford with Paul Lambert finding no need to change the side.

It was a fairly drab first half with limited chances for both sides. Sergio Torres went close after ex-Bee Scott McGleish’s shot was charged down from Stefan Oakes clever low corner with the Argentinian firing close to the body of Lee Harrison.

Wycombe took the lead soon after, Frank Fielding’s long kick proving a weapon as his free kick bounced over the defence to John Sutton who finished very smartly for his first goal for the club. This sent the banter flying with the Barnet fans the other side of the East Stand divide as the premature gloating began. Sutton in truth should have doubled the lead but his short range header was smothered well on the line by Harrison.

The Barnet fans then appealed for a penalty after somehow believing skipper David McCracken handled dangerman Jason Puncheon’s shot on the edge of the area which left Wanderers’ fans shouting ‘Handball!’ at every opportunity to mock this outrageous claim. Soon after, the half-time whistle blew and it could have been more than a one goal lead if Wycombe had taken their chances.

The second half yielded a change with Russell Martin, who was on a yellow card being taken off for Tom Williams with ex-Barnet man Sam Stockley moving to right back. Barnet dominated from the outset with Wycombe sitting back and after a barrage of high passes, Josh Wright unleashed a curling volley that was just off target. The second half never really got a chance to get going with whistle happy Trevor Kettle blowing his whistle at every opportunity and the linesman on the near side making some contentious and sometimes farcical decisions.

With tiring legs evident, Matt Bloomfield came on for Stefan Oakes who picked up a knock a few minutes before and Reuben Reid came on for Scott McGleish who put in a tireless performance.

Two minutes later, Barnet were level. Substitute Liam Hatch controlled excellently on his chest before firing his shot into Fielding’s far corner. The earlier gloating by the Wycombe faithful had well and truly come back to haunt us.

The near-side linesman then decided the outcome of the game really. It may seem fickle to point the blame at the officials but after ridiculously awarding substitute Reid offside when he was at least a yard, the free kick from it was taken quickly and Nicky Nicolau found Jason Puncheon in acres of space and after Fielding saved his first shot with his legs, he tapped home the rebound.

Cue delirium the other side of the divide and in honesty, you could see it coming. Sitting back is never great away from home and by not giving them anything to think about going forward they returned every aimless long pass we played and eventually reaped the rewards. Unfortunate you may say but a lacklustre and lethargic second half performance cost Wycombe the game.

A cross flew across the Barnet area in the dying second but McCracken was well away from connecting and the final whistle blew with Wycombe losing their first game in 5 games.