Boss: Bees may be hive of loan activity

7:37pm Wednesday 21st March 2007

A big clear-out is on the cards at Underhill.

Though Barnet still have plenty to play for this season, the club are already looking towards the next campaign, with a number of departures expected.

Striker Magno Vieira and other unnamed players were this week made available for loan with a view to permanent deals being struck, while Nicky Bailey remains on the transfer list.

The deadline for loan signings is this evening and one or more Bees may not be in the squad travelling to Chester City on Saturday.

At the time of going to press, no deals had been concluded.

Though manager Paul Fairclough is already looking ahead, he knows there is still work to be done this season.

The Bees, who moved a point closer to safety with a 0-0 draw against Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday night, have eight matches to go and Fairclough said he would be setting his team a points target in the coming days.

Barnet are still four away from the magic 50 points, which is usually enough to secure Football League survival. However, Fairclough is confident his troops will amass more than that.

He said: "We have 24 points to play for and I believe we will be well into the 50s come the end of the season."

Barnet 0 Shrewsbury Town 0 Coca-Cola League Two Those that stayed away from a freezing Underhill on Tuesday night - and there were many - might feel a little smug when they take a look at the final score.

But those that did make up Barnet's third lowest league crowd of the season will insist the result does not tell the full story.

This game was far from dull and both sides created a number of chances, with the Bees seeing what looked like a perfectly good goal ruled out.

Manager Paul Fairclough said: "I don't know what more we could have done on the night. We created enough chances."

And he insisted Liam Hatch's thunderbolt that smacked the underside of the bar did bounce over the line.

"Their goalkeeper thought it had crossed the line, and that's hard to swallow," he said.

"The bonus is that we kept a clean sheet. Normally in games like that, we go on to lose in the last minute."

In fact, Barnet nearly did lose; substitute Andy Cooke's near-post header in stoppage time flicking off the post before going behind.

But that would have been cruel on the Bees, who created more chances than the play-off-chasing Shrews in an entertaining contest.

Fairclough said: "I think we did enough to have got more than one point. The players could not have given much more in terms of commitment."

Fairclough chose to start Hatch up front with Adam Birchall, controversially leaving Oliver Allen on the bench.

"It was a big decision, but I needed a physical presence," said Fairclough. "We had some great chances in the first half. Hatch and Birchall were pretty dynamic without scoring.

"What more could Liam have done for us on the night? He put their defence under pressure and arguably had a goal disallowed."

Birchall should also have broken the deadlock, but clipped the bar with the goal gaping after he had flicked a long clearance over the last defender in first-half injury time.

Birchall also forced keeper Chris MacKenzie into saving at his near post in the 15th minute, while Jason Puncheon saw a rasping 25-yard drive tipped over on the half-hour.

In between, Shrewsbury's Derek Asamoah saw a shot on the turn bounce off the post into the arms of the grateful Ross Flitney.

Barnet had most of the second-half chances and Hatch could not believe his 54th-minute shot on the turn did not break the deadlock. The ball was pinging about in the area and his strike seemed to come from nowhere, the striker doing superbly to keep it down.

MacKenzie never got close to it, but the ball was hacked to safety and the match officials insisted it never crossed the line.

Ismail Yakubu then saw MacKenzie push away his free header from a Nicky Bailey free-kick, while Barry Cogan saw a late effort deflected just wide after bursting into the box.

Cooke's late header at the other end almost won it for the Shrews, but it was destined to be one of those nights.

BARNET (4-4-2): Flitney; Devera, Yakubu, King, Gross; Hessenthaler (Cogan 24), Sinclair, Bailey, Puncheon; Hatch, Birchall (Allen 83). Subs not used: Harrison, Hendon, Grazioli Attendance: 1,672 Best Bee: Ismail Yakubu AFC Hornchurch 1 Wingate & Finchley 1 Ryman League Division One North by ADAM RYNHOLD Wingate & Finchley held the runaway leaders in an excellent and sporting game of football on a bitterly cold night at Bridge Avenue on Tuesday.

Both sides wanted the points, with Hornchurch looking to take another step towards the title and Wingate keen to return to winning ways after a bad run.

Chances were aplenty, but neither goalkeeper was really tested until Dean Williams was put through in a one-on-one situation, with Dale Brightly blocking his drive.

But it was the hosts who struck minutes before the break. Simon Parker whipped over a cross to the back post, where Kris Lee was totally unmarked and had the easy task of rolling the ball home.

Hornchurch almost added a second straight after. Ed Thompson advanced out and left his goal gaping, but 16-year-old Darren Assiamah superbly covered to head the goalbound effort off the line.

Wingate were back on terms early in the second half. Daniel Clarke fired in a first-time effort that Brightly failed to hold and Williams was on hand to finish for his 20th of the season.

The Blues now took the game to their hosts, with Joe O'Brien firing wide and Williams seeing Brightly turn over a drive that looked destined for the top corner. Craig Ellis headed over and Clarke had an effort saved.

In the end, a draw was a fair result, as the hosts had the better of the first half, while the Blues had the better of the second.

Meanwhile, Williams, pictured, hit a late consolation for Wingate in the 4-1 defeat at home to Waltham Abbey on Saturday.

It was his 91st league and cup goal for the Blues in his 300th appearance, taking him above Andy Myers as the leading Wingate goalscorer since the club joined the Ryman League in 1995.

Adam Lee's side travel to Maldon Town on Saturday and then to Tilbury on Tuesday.

* Edgware Town beat Amersham Town 6-1 in the Challenge Trophy on Tuesday night to reach their second cup final of the season.

The Wares will now play Stony Stratford Town at a date and venue to be announced.

Paul Marks, Stuart Blackburne, Johnny Moore, Vince Rispoli, Ben Cain and Phil Kane were all on target.

u Hendon captain Lee O'Leary is to join AFC Wimbledon.

The Dons are one of the biggest clubs in non-league football and O'Leary felt he could not really turn down the chance to further his career.