Paul Fairclough decided to start the match with Steve Kabba and Izale McLeod starting together upfront, and it was indeed this partnership which grabbed three out of Barnet’s four goals.
It was evident that the Bees wanted to start the match strongly, and indeed after 6 minutes, Steve Kabba rose above everyone in the Lincoln penalty area to expertly head in an in swinging Mark Marshall corner to give his side the advantage. Moments later, Kabba came close to grabbing another goal, but his shot from inside the area was blocked by Adam Watts.
After a quarter of an hour, Barnet found themselves two goals ahead. Jordan Parkes was deemed to have been tripped in the penalty area by Ghanaian midfielder Ali Fuseini, and it was up to Steve Kabba to send the goalkeeper the wrong way from the resulting spot kick.
Barnet were now seemingly in dreamland and it so close to being 3-0 a minute after the penalty. Another Marshall corner was swung in, but this time it was met with the head of Joe Devera, only for the looping ball to hit the crossbar.
Lincoln’s first half opportunities were incredibly few and far between; one being after 21 minutes, but Luke Howell’s shot was high, wide, and not at all handsome. With 10 minutes of the half remaining though, a stunning curling shot from Delroy Facey looked as though it was dipping into the top corner, but Jake Cole fantastically stretched to tip the ball over the bar.
Instead, it was the Bees who were to score the next goal. After a good spell of pressure in and around Lincoln’s penalty area, the ball fell for Mark Hughes, who without any pace on the ball which seemed to be stuck under his feet, somehow managed to curl the ball into the corner of the net from 20 yards out.
Hughes should have notched his second goal after 40 minutes, when another corner from Marshall was met with the Northern Irishman’s head, but the ball was blocked on the line before McLeod could only scramble the ball wide of the goal.
Just before halftime, the Hertfordshire side had an even better effort to try and get a fourth goal. Anwar Uddin produced a lovely pin-point cross from a free kick on the halfway line, which again was met with the head of Joe Devera, but this time the ball hit the base of the post before being cleared.
The halftime whistle was unwelcome for Barnet who looked like they were on such a high, and indeed, with no halftime changes from either manager, the away side looked to produce a shock second half comeback.
However, Sam Deering came close to netting his first goal in a black and amber shirt but almost straight from the restart, at the second time of asking, he could only drag a shot wide of Trevor Carson’s goal.
Immediately after that, the Imps pulled one goal back. The ball was played from the right wing to Luke Howell who kept his cool slam a shot into the roof of the net from 10 yards.
Although Steve Kabba was soon denied a hat trick from the legs of Carson after a nice pass from Uddin, it was the away side who were able to reduce the deficit to just the one goal.
This time from the left hand touchline, Delroy Facey produced a smart, low cross which was on a place for Millwall loanee Ashley Grimes who finished well with a first time shot past Jake Cole.
The home fans where fearing the worst whereas the 544 away supporters could sense a comeback could soon be completed. Indeed, when Anwar Uddin fouled Adam Watts in the penalty area, it seemed like it was going to inevitable that the Imps were going to get a surprising equalizer. However, Ashley Grimes stepped up from 12 yards to take the penalty, but it wasn’t tucked right into the corner, and Jake Cole fantastically pushed the ball out for a corner to become Barnet’s hero.
The game started to become very stretched and after 67 minutes, the nervy looking Barnet snatched goal number four as Mark Marhsall’s lingering cross to the far post was put in nicely by the otherwise quiet Izale McLeod.
With 15 minutes remaining, Marshall almost got his own name on the score sheet but his shot took a large deflection before dropping wide of the net.
Izale McLeod was soon replaced by Charlie Stimson, who impressed in he Herts Senior Cup win at Broxbourne Borough, and the young striker almost immediately got a goal for himself. Some good one touch play between John Dunleavy and Sam Deering eventually resulted in the young striker Stimson scuffing a weak shot wide.
With the three points all having been wrapped up, in injury time new Bees signing Kwame JJ Adjeman-Pamboe came on to replace Izale McLeod. There was still time for Steve Kabba to attempt to score his hat trick goal, after a good chipped ball from Stimson found the former Watford striker, but this time he could only shoot wide.
It was a very good result for Barnet, although they now face a very difficult match at Rotherham United at the Don Valley Stadium on Saturday.
Man of the Matches: Steve Kabba and Jake Cole