Barnet boss Martin Allen felt he got the sharper performance he was looking for against Crystal Palace and conceded he had been harsh in asking for more against Hungerford Town a week ago.

The Bees were beaten 5-3 by the Premier League side but gave former Bee Alan Pardew and his side a run for their money.

A hat-trick from Dwight Gayle undid Barnet, who had taken the lead via John Akinde after 72 seconds. However, Gayle gave the Eagles a 2-1 advantage at the break before adding his third after the restart.

Luke Gambin pulled one back before Reice Allassani made it 4-2. Kevin Lisbie then headed home his first for the club only for Fraizer Campbell to hit a fifth before the finish.

The Bees had beaten Southern League Premier Division outfit Hungerford Town seven days earlier and speaking afterwards, Allen had demanded more of his side.

Asked if he had seen what he wanted against the Eagles, he replied: “Very much so. I think it was maybe a little bit harsh that I thought we needed to do better this week – I don’t think I explained myself properly.

“After three difficult days of hard training it is difficult for them – and probably not right – to expect them to come out and be sharp against Hungerford last week.

“Today I thought they were sharp. They were fully focused, working as a team and working in their units. I have integrated the new players as quickly as we can and they are coming together very nicely.”

Assessing his side’s showing against the south Londoners, Allen said: “It was a very good work-out. We had it planned the first group of players would play 60 to 65 minutes and I thought they acquitted themselves very well against a strong Crystal Palace team."

He continued: “Against teams like this you can see the quality they have got and you have to get as many people behind the ball as quickly as you can to stop them getting opportunities or gaps they can strike and score – just like the boy (Dwight) Gayle did.

“I thought the quality and commitment of the performance today was spot on.”

Allen made ten changes just after the hour mark with only goalkeeper Graham Stack completing the full 90 minutes. And those changes afforded the exciting Fumnaya Shomotun another run-out, as well as giving summer signing Lisbie his debut.

“The young players deserve it,” stated Allen. “They have had to work hard for the last week and they are on a plan to get them fitter and stronger and up to first-team level. Of course, it gives them a feel of what it is like to be up against some good players.

“Palace were a little bit weaker in the second half but even so, it was good to see Kevin Lisbie and Gashy (Michel Gash) out there. It is the first time Kevin has turned out for us because we have to be careful with Kevin. He is at a different at the moment to the other players but it was great to see him score a brilliant goal,” Allen enthused.

The Bees boss rightly took some encouragement from seeing his charges score three times against a Premier League defence but insists he was more pleased by the fact all 21 players used came through a testing 90 minutes unscathed.

He said: “To be honest with you, the real result is the players’ fitness, having no injuries and getting all the players to play those games.

“We played with high intensity in hot weather, so their fitness levels have improved and it gives me a chance now to work on something different for the week ahead. We spent the whole week working on defending because we did not expect to have too much of the ball today.”

You can read today's match report by clicking here.