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Barnet 5 Morecambe 1 - 4 Sep 2004 - Nationwide Conferecne
Five-star Barnet ran riot against ten-man Morecambe in a dramatic encounter Underhill.
The Bees started at place and Morecambe found themselves with backs against the wall. Giuliano Grazioli's header on four minutes was well saved by Adam Sollitt.
The Shrimps however could have stolen the lead when Chris Blackburn got on the end of Kieron Walmsley free-kick, but his header from only six yards went straight at Ricky Millard.
The visitors were then forced to defend for long periods with Grazioli and Liam Hatch proving to be a persistent threat in attack.
Grazioli thought he given the Bees the lead after 22 minutes when his overhead kick looped over the head of Sollitt, but an acrobatic goal-line clearance from Michael Twiss kept the scores level.
As the temperature on the pitch rose, so too did the tempers. Referee Yerby started to lose his common sense and issued yellow cards for fairly innocent challenges.
The Shrimps were then dealt a tougher task of maintaining a clean sheet when Walmsley received a second yellow card.
After the restart it was the visitors were quicker out of the blocks and despite being under pressure for much of the first half they actually took the lead.
Terry McFlynn's beautiful piece of individual skill put them one up in the 59th minute. He flicked the ball over Simon Clist's head before calmley slotting the ball past Millard much to the delight of the 64 travelling fans.
Morecambe's goal ignited the hosts.
Simon King scored his first goal for the club two minutes after McFlynn's strike.
Captain Ian Hendon then gave the Bees the lead from the penalty spot. His powerful drive was thumped straight down middle of the goal after Grazioli had won the kick after being hacked down by Sollitt.
Grazioli added two more for his fifth and sixth goals of the season. His first on 73 minutes was a diving header at the far post after Hatch supplied the pass.
His second three minutes later was clinical. He produced a neat flick and dinked the ball over Sollitt before tapping the ball into the empty net.
Substitute Nick Bailey completed the scoring in the 90th minute as the Morecambe defence finally ran out of steam.
Morecambe 1-3 Barnet - 24 Feb 2004 - Nationwide Confereence
Barnet won this battle of the play-off rivals comfortably.
The visitors, despite missing four regular players through suspension, always held the upper hand after a superb first-half performance against the shocking Shrimps.
The Bees took the lead in only the second minute with their first attack of the afternoon. Simon King delivered a dangerous low cross from the left-hand side into the Morecambe six-yard box and Joe Gamble raced in to sidefoot the ball home.
The visitors then extended their lead in their next attack. With 11 minutes played Ben Strevens took control of a loose ball on the edge of the Morecambe area and curled a delightful right-foot shot into the top left-hand corner of the goal.
Morecambe hit back with a brief revival. A Danny Carlton flick-on landed just behind the on-rushing Terry McFlynn and Dean Howell flashed a long-range effort wide of the left-hand post.
But Morecambe were soon smarting once again as Barnet added a third on 36 minutes. A cross from the right was headed against the underside of the crossbar and Simon Clist was on hand to bundle home the loose ball from close range.
Barnet at this stage were in total control and although Morecambe had the majority of the pressure in the second half, they never looked like losing their lead.
Morecambe gained some pride with a spirited second-half performance, but for all their effort created few clear cut chances.
Goalkeeper Ade Bankole did well to hold on to a Jim Bentley header and a Kieron Walmsley free-kick before saving well at the feet of Ryan Sugden.
Morecambe almost scored on 66 minutes when a Garry Thompson volley flashed inches wide on the right-hand post before Jim Harvey's side were given a glimmer of hope when Carlton slotted home his 14th league goal of the season.
Wayne Curtis then saw a header well gathered by Bankole, but the second-half surge from the home side was too little too late.
Barnet 2 Morecambe 1- 4 Oct 2003 - Nationwide Conference