Barnet head coach Darren Currie says his side have 'got to be ruthless' following FA Trophy exit to AFC Fylde

The Bees held high-flying Fylde to a 0-0 draw across normal and extra time, with plenty of chances to win the game, but the hosts won the shoot-out to progress to the semi-finals.

Speaking to the club’s website, Currie said: “We had chances to win the game, but we’ve just got to be ruthless. Our build-up play was very good at times but there was a great chance for Jack Barham, a great chance for Simeon [Akinola], one or two opportunities that fell for Shaq [Coulthirst], we’ve got to take them in any game but in cup football you have to take your chances.”

The players battled against a Fylde side who are performing well in the National League and who had secured a big win in the previous round of this competition, and Currie said that his players acknowledged they had missed an opportunity.

He said: “They’re devastated because they’ve played well. They’re of the same opinion as me, all saying at the end of they day ‘we’ve got to take our chances’. There was commitment for the 120 minutes, I’m proud of the fact they’ve worked as hard as they can, and we’ve just got to be ruthless in front of goal.”

Barnet have plenty of league matches to catch up on after their lengthy stays in the trophy as well as the FA Cup, and they go again tomorrow night when they host Chesterfield at The Hive after tough games recently against Sutton United and Solihull Moors.

Currie said: “We’ve had two really difficult fights against Solihull and Sutton, and we faced another very good side here today in Fylde and the performances certainly today and certainly against Solihull have been very good.

“For us to take that next step, we need to put away our chances, we need to get a reward for our approach play and we just didn’t have that kind of luck today.”

The Chesterfield fixture is followed by another home game against Barrow next weekend, before the Bees travel to FC Halifax Town on Tuesday March 5.