Barnet striker Charlie MacDonald revealed the Bees prepared for Saturday’s FA Trophy tie at Concord Rangers by training at a local pitch on Thursday.

Martin Allen’s side were held to a goalless draw by the Conference South side and will now face a replay against the Beach Boys on Tuesday at The Hive.

The pitch conditions at the Aspect Arena were far from ideal, with Concord having played at home four times in a fortnight prior to Saturday’s first round tie, and by the end it was showing signs of heavy wear.

However MacDonald, like head coach Allen, explained the conditions had not taken the Bees by surprise and had featured in their meticulous preparation.

He said: “We knew [what to expect]. On Thursday we trained at the local park and the grass was long and a bit boggy because the gaffer wanted us to be in that mindset of how this was going to be. It was great preparation doing that.”

MacDonald continued: “For me in the first half, I felt like I got down the sides a few times and got in for my chance and Bernard (Mensah) got in too. We did play direct, but if you play quality balls in down the sides of any team defenders hate running back towards their own goal.

“A prime example was the sending off. A ball straight down the side with Bernard’s pace, the lad had to go.

“I felt we adapted quite well but a few sloppy mistakes gifted them chances. Cut that out and I think we will be OK,” he added.

MacDonald had initially only been pencilled in to be a substitute alongside top-scorer John Akinde, but having only played 30 minutes at Torquay United eight days ago due to Bondz N’Gala’s sending off, the captain asked to start the tie instead.

He explained: “I did not feel I could go two weeks with only 30 minutes of football under my belt, so that was the main reason for me to go in to the gaffer. I felt really good against Macclesfield and I felt fine after the half-an-hour against Torquay so I just wanted to maintain that.”

Assessing his own performance, which saw him come within inches of opening the scoring early on, MacDonald opined: “I did feel quite sharp and I had a real good chance where I went off the shoulder in the first half and tried to lift it over the keeper but I did not get enough on it and I skewed it off the outside of my foot, which is unlike me.

“I have been around a long time now and adapted my game over the years because I have never really been a player who drops in; I have always been a player to play up top off the shoulder [of the last defender] but since I have been here I have dropped in a lot – especially when we are winning games and under pressure.”

Click here to read the thoughts of head coach Martin Allen.