Barnet 1 Burton Albion 1 (From Times Series)

Barnet 1 Burton Albion 1

4:53pm Saturday 27th March 2010 in Sport

Below-par Barnet had to settle for a point in a disappointing clash at Underhill this afternoon.

And the neutral would probably say they were lucky to get that.

This was not the Bees' best performance and Burton created most of the chances.

But a Mark Hughes equaliser just before the break at least gave the hosts something to show for their efforts, whether it was deserved or not.

There was just one change from the Barnet side that beat Darlington seven days ago, the fit-again Paul Furlong replacing John O'Flynn.

Manager Ian Hendon again opted for a 4-3-3 formation, with Albert Adomah and Albert Jarrett on the wings.

Burton had the first efforts on goal, John McGrath and Shaun Harrad both just wide with strikes early on.

And the visitors struck on 18 minutes, ex-Bee Greg Pearson looping the ball over Jake Cole from eight yards after Jimmy Phillips had teed him up. It was a cool finish, but the defending was poor.

The Bees had not really got going and struggled to stamp their mark on the game.

Cleveland Taylor was next to try his luck, his low drive going across the area and finishing just wide.

The Brewers almost added a second from a corner on the half-hour. First Cole managed to push the ball out, before Mark Hughes hacked it away from almost on the goalline.

Nobody would have argued with Burton going in at the break ahead, but they could not hold on.

On the stroke of half-time, with almost their first chance of the game, Barnet struck.

Furlong saw a looping header headed off the line following a deflected Matt Lockwood cross, but Hughes was on hand to volley the ball into the net from the angle of the six-yard box.

It was tough on the visitors and a stroke of luck for the Bees, who had been outfought in the first 45 minutes.

Burton almost restored their lead five minutes into the second half. Gary Breen allowed Harrad to get the better of him on the right and the striker hit a first-time shot that a diving Cole pushed out at full stretch.

On the hour, Hendon decided to go 4-4-2 in a bid to liven things up a bit and, within a couple of minutes, Adomah struck the far post after connecting to a Jarrett centre.

Though the hosts continued to labour, it was at least a slight improvement on the first half - but only slight.

Sadly, the game became even scrappier the longer it went on and chances were even fewer in the closing stages.

BARNET (4-3-3): Cole; Devera, Breen, Kamdjo (Gillet 58), Lockwood; Hughes, M Hyde (Wright 58), Livermore; Adomah, Furlong, Jarrett (Upson 80). Subs not used: Carpenter, O'Neill, Deverdics, J Hyde.

Attendance: 1,842.