4:58pm Saturday 2nd February 2008
By Paul Wreyford
FULL TIME: Barnet 0 Morecambe 1 . . .
A lapse of concentration at the back cost Barnet the points at Underhill this afternoon.
Morecambe's Garry Thompson was allowed acres of space to score at the second attempt following a 61st-minute corner.
Despite appeals for a penalty late on, the Bees never came close to finding an equaliser.
Apart from an early Albert Adomah chance and a Jason Puncheon effort that struck the foot of the post, Barnet struggled to create chances throughout.
Once again they played some nice football, but generally lacked a cutting edge.
It proved to be a big disappointment after Wednesday's excellent win at Hereford United.
Barnet were unchanged from the side that beat the Bulls on Wednesday, though there was a place on the bench for new signing Kieron St Aimie.
The Bees should have scored after just five minutes. Cliff Akurang sped down the left wing and played a clever ball back into the path of the arriving Adomah, but the winger, on his home debut, shot wide with the side of his boot from a central position. He should have at least forced keeper Shwan Jalal into a save.
Craig Stanley then tried his luck from distance for Morecambe, but the ball was always rising.
Wayne Curtis did put the ball in the net for the Shrimps on 16 minutes, but the flag was already up.
At the other end, Kenny Gillet saw a shot blocked, after the ball broke to him on the edge of the box.
It was an even start, with both sides looking quite bright, despite tough midweek games.
Morecambe skipper Jim Bentley attempted an ambitious volley from a right-wing cross, but he may have been better off using his head, the ball finishing well wide.
At times Barnet struggled to get players up quickly enough to support lone striker Akurang, and the visiting defence was not tested as much as the home fans would have wished.
Not that Lee Harrison had too much to do either, though the Bees keeper did have to be alert to save a Carl Baker shot seven minutes before the break.
Adomah earned applause for a spirited run towards the Morecambe box, which was ended unfairly, but Jason Puncheon curled the resulting free-kick well over.
However, by the time the half-time whistle was blown, both sides had lost their way and looked in need of a pick-me-up from their respective managers.
Barnet looked like they had made the breakthrough five minutes after the restart, Puncheon seeing Jalal push his 12-yard shot on to the base of the post.
At the other end, Baker broke but hit weakly at Harrison as the keeper came to narrow the angle.
Josh Wright then tried his luck for Barnet, Jalal tipping over his long-range effort.
It was an encouraging start to the second period and just looked a matter of time before the Bees would strike.
But Harrison again had to be on his toes, pushing behind a speculative Baker drive on the hour.
And that proved to be a warning. From the corner, Garry Thompson arrived at the back post totally unmarked.
Harrison did well to parry his initial volley, but the Morecambe player slammed home the rebound from close in to break the deadlock.
Manager Paul Fairclough responded by throwing on strikers Adam Birchall and Anthony Thomas, but the goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the hosts, and the Bees struggled to create chances.
In fact, they barely got into the opposition area.
With five minutes to go. Barnet were awarded a free kickon the right. Nicky Nicolau played it across the edge of the area and Wright came to collect, but was seemingly tripped by Danny Adams as he tried to skip away from the Morecambe defender. However, the calls for a penalty fell on death ears.
BARNET (4-5-1): Harrison; Porter, Devera, Yakubu, Gillet; Adomah (Thomas 63), Wright, Bishop, Nicolau, Puncheon (St Aimie 73); Akurang (Birchall 63). Subs not used: Hendon, Carew.
Attendance: 1,619.
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