The theatre of nightmares (From Times Series)

The theatre of nightmares

2:25pm Thursday 27th October 2005 in

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Barnet manager Paul Fairclough hailed his Old Trafford heroes and declared: "I wish we could have had the chance to show everyone just what teams at our level can do."

The Bees had to play 89 minutes against Manchester United with ten men after keeper Ross Flitney was controversially sent off for handling the ball outside his area.

But Barnet still produced a superb performance in going down 4-1 to the Red Devils, Dean Sinclair netting for the visitors.

Fairclough said: "I'm just so proud of my players. Under the circumstances, there were some fantastic performances."

But the Bees boss said it was just a shame two players had their big nights ruined by the very harsh red card that came just one minute into the game. Louis Soares was the man sub keeper Scott Tynan replaced.

Fairlcough added: "Ross was distraught and I mean distraught. He had his dreams shattered. It was a very cruel decision."

Barnet were roared on by thousands of travelling fans and put in a terrific performance, particularly in the second half.

And Fairclough paid tribute to the fans.

"They were absolutely staggering," he said.