Barnet were seen off 1-0 by promotion chasers Luton Town at The Hive on Saturday as Olly Lee's second-half goal proved enough to clinch victory.

The Bees were unfortunate to find themselves on the losing side against a talented Hatters outfit, with John Akinde firing blanks and visiting goalkeeper Stuart Moore also in fine fettle.

Head coach Kevin Nugent, with the play-offs out of reach, promised to play the club's youngsters in their final games and so it proved, with four youth-team graduates in the starting line-up and another three on the bench.

However, another defeat kept the pressure on the new boss with results under his tenure now stretching to a solitary win in 10 attempts.

Five changes from defeat at Stevenage saw Harry Taylor, Elliott Johnson, Ricardo Santos, Mauro Vilhete and Fumnaya Shomotun return to the starting line-up as Nugent shuffled his pack - including dropping captain Michael Nelson to the bench.

In the early stages the new-look line-up looked to be working, and they forged a number of half-chances without testing Moore.

Luton picked up following their slow start but could not find a way of troubling the Bees' rearguard - and the hosts would end the half the stronger.

They should have led when stand-in skipper Curtis Weston found Akinde and the opportunity deserved better than his tame effort which was easily saved.

Then Ruben Bover and Vilhete both put chances narrowly wide and Charlie Clough headed just beyond the post from a set play.

Akinde ended the half forcing a good save from Moore, his first of the day, with the visiting goalkeeper tipping his powerful effort over the bar.

Luton showed why they are in contention for a top-three finish after the interval, but only after being grateful to Moore for keeping a Vilhete header and Bover free-kick from opening the scoring.

Danny Hylton, in contention for the League 2 golden boot, led the line well, but it was Lee who would put them ahead from just inside the area when the Bees, who had numbers back, failed to deal with a ball into their own box and the midfielder finished smartly.

The confidence soon drained from the Bees and despite a late rally they were unable to force an equaliser, or any more meaningful saves from Moore, leaving them only a point closer to the play-off pack than the relegation zone.

Barnet: Stephens, H Taylor, Clough, Santos, Johnson, Vilhete (Akinola 75), Weston, Bover (Amaluzor 68), Campbell-Ryce, Shomotun (J Taylor 61), Akinde.

Unused: Nelson, Coulson, McKenzie-Lyle, Tutonda.