Review of season 2007-08

Barnet started December with a trip to Blue Square Premier side, Burton Albion in the 2^nd round of the FA Cup. The Bees were without Jason Puncheon who had collected five yellow cards and so missed the game through suspension. Nicky Nicolau came into the side and he was sent off in the second half for two bookable offences. The match was a hard one, as expected, the Bees taking a first half lead through Liam Hatch and Lee Harrison saving a penalty just before half time. Burton snatched an equaliser late on and the game ended 1-1, taking the tie to a replay at Underhill. Sagi Burton was substituted with a bad injury, which kept him out for months.

Back in League Two, Barnet played well at Chester, but lost 3-0, with Puncheon back in the side and Joe O'Cearuill replacing Burton. It was Josh Wright's last game of his current loan spell, though he was to return in January. The defeat left Barnet in 12^th place, 6 points off the play offs and with just 2 points from 6 games. In the next game at home to Macclesfield, two awful defensive blunders put the visitors 2-0 up within 10 minutes. Liam Hatch pulled one back and a late Neal Bishop goal, his first for the club, saved a point for the Bees, but it was the 4^th time in the last 5 home games, that the club had thrown away two points. Indeed the last 5 home games had only brought 4 points.

Three days later, their were two great results for Barnet, one on the field and one off the field. An extra time goal from Adam Birchall put Burton out of the FA Cup and won an away trip to Swindon Town in the 3^rd round. Perhaps, even more important was the announcement that Barnet Council had agreed to the compromise package of ground improvements at Underhill, which meant that the building of a new South Stand and a smaller North East Stand could go ahead straight away.

However this was followed by a terrible 4-1 away defeat to Lincoln City, another bogie team was followed by the annual postponement at Rochdale and by the time Barnet played Dagenham & Redbridge at Underhill on Boxing Day, Barnet had slipped to 14^th and had taken just 3 points from 8 matches.

However, Barnet's fortunes improved for a while after this. A Jason Puncheon hat trick dispatched the Daggers by 3-1 to give the Bees their first league win since winning at Wrexham in October. Three days later though, Barnet were beaten by a professional performance from Chesterfield who were full value for their 20-0 victory. It was to be Liam Hatch's last match for the club as he turned down an improved offer from Barnet to move to Peterborough United.

His replacement was 6ft 2" striker, Cliff Akurang from Histon, who had scored 10 goals in 19 games for the Blue Square Premier club already since the beginning of the season. He made his debut away at Wycombe on New Years Day and Barnet got a point with a goalless draw, the first clean sheet in the league since October. The game also saw the return of Josh Wright, on loan from Charlton, now for the rest of the season and the debut of Rob Beckwith, given his chance instead of Lee Harrison.

Most of the rest of the month was taken up with the distractions of the FA Cup, while poor weather lead to the postponements of home games against Peterborough and Darlington. Barnet also signed 20 year old winger, Albert Adomah from Ryman Premier League club, Harrow Borough. It was to prove one of the best signings of the season. Central defender, James Cole left to join Wivenhoe and Jason Norville joined Blue Square Premier club, Woking.

A superb Adam Birchall goal was enough to give Barnet a 1-1 draw away at Swindon Town in the FA, Cup and a replay at Underhill. A week later, the Bees came away from their away trip to MK Dons with a 1-0 win against the runaway league leaders courtesy of an Ismail Yakubu goal and three days later, the Bees progressed to the 4^th round of the FA Cup for the second year running knocking out Swindon Town on penalties after the game had ended 1-1 after extra time. To add to the excitement, Rob Beckwith's heroics in the penalty shoot out wee played out in front of the new South Stand, opened in time for the Cup game and packed full of Barnet supporters to enhance the drama of the occasion.

Barnet failed to draw a big club in the 4^th round, drawing the third League One club in their cup run, Bristol Rovers in a match to be played at Underhill. However, the game proved to be a disappointment, though it could have different if Jason Puncheon hadn't missed an early penalty. Despite a fine performance from Lee Harrison, back in the side because of an injury to Rob Beckwith, a second half, Ricky Lambert goal sent Rovers through to the 5^th round.

Three days later, Barnet bounced back with a superb 2-1 win at promotion challengers Hereford United. An excellent debut goal from Albert Adomah and a Nicky Nicolau goal, his first of the season, meant that the Bees had taken 7 points from their first 3 league games of the year, all away and all against teams with promotion ambitions. Midfield player, Kieron St. Aimie arrived from QPR, while Joe O'Cearuill left for Irish club, St. Patrick's Athletic.

At the end of January, Barnet were 16^th but had games in hand on all the teams above them and only 5 points separated them from 10^th placed Stockport. The Bees league form since the turn of the year was enough to convince some fans that Barnet could still make the play offs.

MK Dons, Darlington and Rotherham occupied the three automatic promotion places, while Mansfield Town and Wrexham were the two clubs in the relegation zone.