4:55pm Saturday 9th August 2008
By Paul Wreyford
A freak Ashley Carew goal from his own half could not inspire Barnet to greater things at a wet Underhill this afternoon.
Carew scored from a free kick to give his side a half-time lead, but Chesterfield, unlucky to be losing at the interval, never let their heads drop and struck three times in the second half as the disjointed Bees wilted.
In truth, Barnet were outclassed in all departments and the final score could have been even more emphatic. The Bees could certainly not have any complaints about the result, the visitors looking a good early bet for promotion.
New signings Nicky Deverdics and Luke Medley had to settle for a place on the bench, while keeper Lee Harrison started ahead of Rob Beckwith, who had been struggling with injury this week.
The match started in driving rain, the ball zipping across the excellent Underhill surface.
The first chance fell to Chesterfield on ten minutes, but Gregor Robertson's back-post effort lacked power and Harrison had no problem making the save.
The ball broke kindly for the visitors a few minutes later and it was fed to Jamie Ward, though his shot from the edge of the area was well wide.
Harrison then had to come to the rescue of team-mate Neal Bishop, the keeper pulling off a fine block to deny Ward, Bishop having sloppily given the ball away on the edge of the area.
But it was the Bees who struck on 18 minutes - and in dramatic fashion. Carew floated a free kick into the Chesterfield box from just inside his own half. Keeper Tommy Lee came out to meet it but completely misjudged the flight of the ball and it sailed over his head into the empty net. It was an incredible moment and no one could quite believe it. The shock goal also came when the Spireites were well on top. It was Barnet's first "shot" of the game.
And the visitors should have levelled midway through the half. A flowing move cut open the heart of the Barnet defence, but Ward, with just Harrison to beat, curled the ball wide when he should have buried it.
It was not Chesterfield's half. They thought they should have had a penalty on the half-hour when Jack Lester went over under the challenge of Ismail Yakubu, but the striker, much to his anger, was booked for diving.
On 35 minutes, Carew whipped over a cross that the incoming Albert Adomah met on the volley under challenge, but he failed to get a clean connection on the ball and it finished wide of Lee's post.
Harrison had to make another fine save, this time to turn over a shot that came off the head of Yakubu, the veteran keeper showing he had lost none of his reflexes.
Lester had the ball in the net two minutes before the break, but he was penalised for pushing. It just about summed up Chesterfield's half, and they must have wondered how on earth they were going in at the interval behind.
The Spireites started the second half where they left off, with Lester side-footing a shot wide when well placed. The striker should have hit the target at the very least.
But Lester finally equalised on 55 minutes. The Barnet defence held off as the hitman headed for goal. He twisted and turned, before beating Harrison with a low shot from the edge of the box. It was no more than the visitors deserved.
A lovely Carew cross at the other end was there for the taking, but no Barnet striker could reach the ball as it flashed across the six-yard box.
And, within a minute, Lester had put his side in front with a sublime lob, the ball breaking for him just outside the area, Harrison having been left stranded well off his line. It was a quality finish.
The Bees, having been fortunate in the first half, now had to raise their game, with the Spireites threatening to tear them apart.
Manager Paul Fairclough responded by bringing on both Medley and Deverdics.
MIdway through the second half, Cliff Akurang slipped in Adam Birchall down the left, but Lee was out quickly to block the striker's shot.
And Adomah almost equalised with a superb individual run. The winger cut in from the left, rode several tackles, before shooting from a central position, only to see Lee dive low to stop his shot with an outstretched hand.
At least the Bees had stemmed the tide and were now starting to make a fight of it.
But, with 12 minutes to go, three Barnet players made a mess of a long ball over the top. It left Ward in the clear and he had all the time and space in the world to pick his spot for number three.
Medley almost pulled one back with five minutes to go, but Lee did just enough to keep out his close-range effort, diving low to push out the sub's angled shot.
Lee also got down well to save another Adomah drive, the hosts gamely trying to redeem the situation in the closing minutes.
But the Spireites, now content to sit on their two-goal lead, held firm to make it a disappointing start to Barnet's League Two campaign.
BARNET (4-4-2): Harrison; Carew (Leary 76), Yakubu, Devera, Gillet; Adomah, Porter, Bishop, St Aimie (Deverdics 68); Birchall, Akurang (Medley 68). Subs not used: Beckwith, Tabiri.
Attendance: 2,237.
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