Martin Allen felt Barnet took advantage of Chester's tired legs from their FA Cup replay with Barnsley and got stronger as the game wore on this afternoon.

The Bees won 3-0 at The Hive to maintain their seven-point lead over second-placed Macclesfield Town – who beat Alfreton Town 5-1 – and Allen believed his side improved as they game progressed.

Chester were beaten 3-0 in their second round replay by League One Barnsley on Tuesday, having played an FA Trophy tie three days earlier.

Allen said: “They are a good team. In the week they played against Barnsley and had 58 per cent possession, which is some going, so we knew they were going to try and keep the ball.

“We probably expected in the second for them to tire after such a big game for them in the FA Cup in the week and that is how it panned out.

“The longer the game went on the stronger we got, after our players had all been rested and it was a very strong performance against what has been a team in form.

“They did have a lot of the ball but they did not really threaten our goal and when that break came, John (Akinde) managed to bury it, and from that point onwards, we got stronger,” added Allen.

Akinde’s opener, his 19th of the season, was followed by Charlie MacDonald’s sixth and his first following a two-month injury lay-off in the autumn. Curtis Weston added a third late on to seal the win for Barnet and complete a seasonal double over Steve Burr’s side.

Reflecting on MacDonald’s return to form, Allen mused: “Charlie probably returned too quickly from his operation. He was desperate to get and I was obviously desperate to get him back and I probably brought him back into the team too soon.

“He is 33 so it takes a little bit longer to recover. But he is such an influence over the rest of the players and it a real catalyst within what we do at Barnet. After the game last week away at Concord Rangers in the FA Trophy, he has been rested through the week to be ready for today’s game.

“That cross that went across the six yard box, that is the Charlie MacDonald [we know]. He deserved that for sure and he will be relieved. He has worked very hard in training and everyone is delighted for him in the dressing room.”

Asked why centre-back David Stephens had played up front after coming on as a substitute, Allen replied: “I have not got any problem about playing him as a centre forward. Everyone asks who is going to play up front instead of Akinde? Any of them can play up front instead of him; (Jack) Saville can play there, Bondz N’Gala can player there, Dave Stephens can play there and (Jon) Nurse – who did well at Torquay – can play there.”

Read the match report from Barnet’s victory over Chester by clicking here.