After just 41 seconds the visitors opened the scoring when Gary FletcherÂ’s left-wing cross was placed home by Paul Terry with his left foot giving keeper Danny Naisbitt no chance.
Conditions were wet and windy and players were often sliding over, this helped the lively forwards such as Junior Agogo, who after 15 minutes steered Mark Gower's corner over the bar.
Minutes later Agogo had a right-foot shot that went just wide of the post and left-back Lee Flynn tried a drive from 30 yards but his shot was well wide.
At the other end Daggers striker Junior McDougald broke through and Bees keeper Naisbitt has to race out of his area to partly clear the ball which ended up near the corner flag.
Naisbitt was then forced to concede a foul rather then let the striker shoot at the empty goal.
Dagenham seemed to be happy to play defensively and hold on to their one-goal advantage. This enabled John Doolan and Gower to take charge of the midfield and for Agogo and Wayne Purser to show their speed and test the visitors backline.
It was no surprise when Barnet equalised in the 31st minute when captain Greg Heald headed home Gower's cross from ten yards.
In the second half Dagenham's Danny Shipp was booked for a foul and three minutes later was given a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.
Dagenham side then played with a 5-3-1 line-up and were hard pressed to keep the Bees away from the goal.
It was no surprise when in the 94th minute of the game, loan signing Ian Hendon hit a 40-yard ball which Agogo controlled, before beating Tim Cole to score from ten yards.
The Bees deserved their win, but Dagenham had made them work for the three points.
5.
Barnet v Doncaster Rovers 2003 although we lost Ian scored his first goal for the club in this match!
It was the experienced Doncaster side who opened the scoring from Chris Beech's cross. It was controlled by Paul Barnes and rolled into the path of Jamie Paterson, who curled the ball with his left foot around Bees keeper Daniel Naisbitt.
Barnet's Junior Agogo had been limping since the start of the game and it was no surprise when he was substituted by Toby Oshitola in the 19th minute, as the visitors midfield were in control of the game and Paterson was creating space on the right wing.
After 18 minutes Rovers doubled their lead when Barnes flicked a header to Robert Gill, who drew goalkeeper Naisbitt from the goal and hit a left-foot shot low into the corner.
It was all Doncaster and Barnet were struggling to make an impact on the game.
They did have a few attempts. Neil Midgley hit a right-foot volley just wide and Ismail Yakubu and Wayne Purser combined to give Mark Gower an opportunity to shoot from 25 yards.
Gower again had a left-foot shot turned for a corner by defender Tim Ryan, it was the first corner of the game and 30 minutes had been played.
Just before half time Midgley tried a speculative 35-yarder that was saved by Andy Warrington and Purser and John Doolan both attempted shots at goal.
In the second half Doncaster decided to play deeper and this gave an opportunity to put pressure on the defence. Gower hit a right-foot cross which Greg Heald headed over the bar from 12 yards.
And moments later Barnet deserved their goal.
A right-foot free-kick from 35 yards by Gower was met by on-loan defender Ian Hendon, who headed into the net from seven yards.
It was all Barnet in the closing stages, with Doolan and Gower outstanding in midfield, but the visitors defence held firm to take the points.
4.
Banet v Burton Albion. Hendo scored the crucial penalty that helped the Bees in to the 2003/2004 season Nationwide Conference play offs where the Bees lost in the semis on penalties to Shewsbury. Greg Pearson won the penalty for the Bees and Ian put it away. It lead to a memorable East Terrace surge. And after a few bad results but back belief of promotion to League Two.
Barnet supporters enjoyed a day in the sun at Underhill as their team came from behind to record a 2-1 win over Burton Albion.
With Exeter losing, this result took the Bees into the fourth and final play-off spot. Goals for sub Liam Hatch and captain Ian Hendon and a second half of almost constant Barnet pressure led boss Paul Fairclough to describe his players as "emotional, spritual and physical warriors." The home team had trailed at half time to Robbie Talbot's clinical finish collecting player-manager Nigel Clough's throughball in the 30th minute. The striker carried the ball into the box before unleashing a left-foot drive from 15 yards that went in off the right post.
Barnet had more of the ball but rarely looked like making a breakthrough and with Burton adopting a defensive 5-3-2 formation they struggled to create openings.
Their one chance fell to the tidy Guy Lopez when the ball broke free after Hatch had forced his way into the penalty area but the midfielder's shot was softly hit.
Hatch was a constant threat after coming on in the 33rd minute, his performance all the more impressive considering he was on crutches just a week ago with an ankle injury.
Burton created the early chances with Terry Henshaw providing the energy and Clough the skill. Barnet were thankful to the impressive Matthew Redmile for clearing off the line from the lively Andrew Ducros after his mazy run and shot.
Sadly for the Brewers they could not keep that level of tempo going in the second half and Hatch got the equaliser when he headed Joe Gamble's corner in from close range.
A Barnet winner was on the cards with Burton defending too deep and it came three minutes from time when Brewers captain Darren Stride pushed sub Gregory Pearson in the area and Hendon thumped in the resulting penalty.
Fairclough added: "It was all about mental strength today. We have had to go through an emotional rollercoaster in the last few weeks and the players have shown tremendous mental strength."
3.
Barnet v Telford United the start of the 2003/2004 season and a new era of the club under new manager later to become a traitor Martin Allen. Ian scored in his first game as caption of the club and first time he played as a full time player for the Bees.
Barnet captain Ian Hendon led his team to a well deserved 2-0 victory over Telford United in sweltering conditions in North London.
The 30-year-old will try to claim the second Barnet goal after his shot took a wicked deflection off Telford defender Scott Eustace.
"Ian defended well," said Barnet manager Martin Allen after the match.
"The whole team defended well and we took our chances." Barnet controlled the game and took the lead in the 49th minute through a brilliant strike from striker and longest serving club member Ben Strevens.
"It was a brilliant goal by Strevens," added Allen. "It was good to see after him coming back from such a serious injury." Strevens missed most of last season after a serious ankle injury sidelined the striker for six months.
Man of the match Hendon showed all of his experience as he controlled the game from the back and was instrumental in keeping the Telford forwards at bay.
Hendon played a big part in Barnet's second goal when he won the ball in his own half and ran the length of the pitch to the Telford area.
He shot low and hard at the Telford goal and his shot took a big deflection off defender Eustace and beat the keeper at his near post.
Barnet could have had more goals but for wayward finishing and the fact that the referee twice disallowed Barnet appeals for a penalty.
"I was impressed by all the players today," said Allen. "It was a great start to the season and an ideal way to start a busy week of three games in seven days."
2.
Barnet v Dagenham and Redbridge in 2004/2005 where the Bees slaughtered East Londoners Dagenham and Redbridge 5-0. Nicky Bailey scored the goal of the season but more importantly Hendon scored twice one in the second minute and then from the stop late on.
Nationwide Conference
Saturday 9th October 2004
K.O. 12.30pm
Barnet 5 Dagenham & Redbridge 0
Goals: Barnet: Hendon 2, 76(pen)
Strevens 6
Roache 69
Bailey 73
With Guiliano Grazioli still out, Barnet made just one change from the side that beat Exeter City 3-0 in midweek, skipper Ian Hendon replacing Damien Batt at full back.
Barnet got off to an amazing start when a loping run by Ian Hendon ended with a shot into the left corner of the goal, which seemed to go through keeper, Tony Roberts’ hands.
Four minutes later and Barnet were 2-0 up. A superb cross from the left by Richie Graham was headed home by Ben Strevens. Soon after, Liam Hatch fell awkwardly and had to be carried off on a stretcher. A sad sight for Bees fans.
Lee Roache came on to replace him. Shortly after, Roache had a great chance to make it 3-0 when he was one on one with Roberts, but hit his shot straight at the Dag & Red keeper. Nicky Bailey was unlucky too when he appeared to be brought down in the penalty area, but the referee waved play on.
At the other end, Barnet’s central pair of Simon King and Ishmail Yakubu was keeping a very tight rein on Dagenham’s high scoring strike partnership of Craig Mackail-Smith and Chris Moore, who were barely getting a look in. King, in particular, was magnificent.
Half-Time 2-0
Yakubu did not come out for the second half, having received a knock and was replaced by Damien Batt who slotted in at right back, with Ian Hendon moving over to partner Simon King in the centre.
Dagenham pushed up more at the second half and started to create some chances, Moore broke through but his shot was well saved by Scott Tynan with his legs. Mickail-Smith then forced a scrambled shot home, but it was disallowed for offside.
Dagenham were leaving gaps at the back and Roache was causing trouble with his speed and eventually he broke clear following an excellent ball up the wing by Ian Hendon, Roache kept his call and slotted his shot firmly past Roberts to make it 3-0, effectively finishing the match.
Four minutes later, Nicky Bailey made it 4-0 with a wonderful 20-yard curling shot straight into the top right hand corner of the net. Three minutes later, ex-bee, Lee Flynn was adjudged to have brought down Dean Sinclair in the penalty area. The decision seemed rather harsh, but Ian Hendon stepped up to rifle the penalty home into Roberts’ top left hand corner to finish the scoring.
Another fine performance from the Bees with just about everyone playing well, Graham, Hendon, Bailey and King particularly outstanding.
Man of the Match: Simon King.
Teams:
Barnet: Tynan, Hendon, Yakubu (Batt 46), King, Clist, Bailey, Sinclair, Lee, Graham, Hatch (Roache 13), Strevens.
Subs not used: Millard, Lopez, Maddix.
Dag & Red: Roberts, Foster, Flynn, Cole, Vickers, Bruce, Janney, Uddin, Southam, Moore, Mackail-Smith.
Subs not used: Bussey, Leberi, Blackett, Boot, Hill.
1.
Barnet v Halifax Town. Ian said after the game it was "the high point in his career."
Barnet were crowned champions of the Nationwide Conference and sealed a return to the Football League after an absence of four years, in front of almost 4,000 jubilant fans at Underhill.
Halifax, however, had clearly not read the Bees' celebration party script, as with only a point needed to secure promotion, Barnet went behind to Halifax striker Lewis Killeen's strike after 11 minutes.
Halifax were reduced to ten men just after the hour when John Grant received a straight red card for appearing to elbow Simon King.
The Bees however were stung into action and were level ten minutes before the break through Ben Strevens.
Simon King stretched the Barnet lead three minutes after the restart with a diving header, and the game was effectively over when the prolific Giuliano Grazioli buried his 28th goal of a very productive season.
Halifax in desperate need of points to ensure their own play-off spot had no intention of lying down to die. Their football was gutsy and determined, and the Yorkshire side may feel they deserved something from the game.
With their first attack of the game the visitors took the lead. Bees defender King was unable to make a routine clearance, allowing the alert Ryan Sugden a shot. Scott Tynan the Bees keeper saved low down, but he was powerless to stop Killeen following up into an empty net.
Barnet were unruffled and moved level through Strevens after a neat Grazioli lay-off and a strong mazy run from Dean Sinclair.
King scored the Bees' second of the afternoon, atoning for his early error, after some excellent approach play from Liam Hatch.
The party atmosphere was further enhanced when hitman Grazioli converted Hatch's cross from the right after some relentless Bees pressure.
"We're on our way to the football league," sung the Barnet faithful.
The Bees certainly are.
Ian Hendon 100 appearances for Barnet: