The Bees travel to Shrewsbury Town tonight for a League Two match in much better shape following their 3-0 win over Aldershot, their first win in the league since November, following a run of 13 matches without a win. The three points have taken Barnet two places up the table to 17th and they are now 12 points above the relegation zone and suddenly things look a lot brighter for the Bees.
John O’Flynn’s two goals against the Shots takes him to 12 goals for the season so far, not a bad tally really despite the criticism that he has received from some parts. The Irishman has a goal to games started ratio of about 1 in 2 and many clubs would be very happy to have a player with a goal scoring record of that kind.
One such club is Shrewsbury, who saw a last minute deal in the January transfer window collapse when O’Flynn turned down a £100,000 move to the Prostar Stadium turned down by the Bees’ striker. It will be interesting to see what kind of reception that O’Flynn, who scored twice for the Bees in the corresponding fixture last season, will receive from the home supporters.
Barnet manager, Ian Hendon will be looking to end a dismal run that has seen the Bees lose their last nine away matches in the league in a run that stretches back to September. He will be confident that the Bees can build on the win against Aldershot and kick on from here and start to move towards the top half of the table. Hendon will have most of his squad to choose from with the exception of the injured Ismail Yakubu and Clovis Kamdjo and the four players out on loan; Danny Hart at Hemel Hempstead, Daniel Leach at Dover and Luke Medley and Joe Tabiri who are both at Havant & Waterlooville. Barnet fans will have been impressed by the first appearance of Barnet’s new midfield signing from Brighton, David Livermore who came on as a substitute against Aldershot and crossed for John O’Flynn to grab his second goal for the Bees.
Meanwhile, Shrewsbury Town won 1-0 at Macclesfield Town on Saturday with a goal from midfield player, Steven Leslie. The Shrews are currently 6th in the table and are clearly looking for a place in the play-offs as a minimum target for the end of the season. The Shrews home form this season has been a little erratic and they have only won 6 out of 14 games so far, losing three times at the Prostar in the league, the most recent being against Accrington a couple of weeks ago when Shrewsbury lost 1-0. The Shrews are on pretty good form though, having won four of their last six matches and manager, Paul Simpson is likely to start with the side that won on Saturday.
If the Bees are going to start to move up the League Two table then are going to have to find some away form soon and with Shrewsbury failing to win at home this more often than not this season, tonight could be when the Bees end their awful away run. With that in mind, Barnet Mad are going for a 1-1 draw and wouldn’t it be ironic if John O’Flynn scored the Bees’ goal!!