Dean Brennan admitted he “doesn’t really want to play this way” after a scrappy Barnet display saw them edge Cheltenham Town 1-0 to record back-to-back wins for the first time since returning to the EFL.
After a 2-0 win at Swindon Town, summer signing Ollie Hawkins grabbed the winner on the stroke of the hour mark to make it two victories from two for the Bees.
Another summer acquisition, Emmanuel Osadebe, was shown a red card for a lunge on Josh Martin, but Barnet held on to secure a valuable three points.
Brennan told the club website: “I don’t really want to play this way, to be honest with you. We just had to be gritty today and make them defend.
"Cheltenham never gave in. They kept going for their manager and I know they’ve got a lot of injuries. Their supporters stayed behind them throughout the whole game.
“From our point of view, we just had to do the other side of the game better, and we did. We fought, we dug in, we made entries, we were physical. We scored from a restart, which was a corner.
“I just thought we did basics and the ugly bits really well.”
Barnet thought they had taken the lead midway through the first half through eventual matchwinner Hawkins, but the former Gillingham striker’s effort was not given despite the ball looking like it had crossed the line.
Brennan added: “It wasn’t his fault it wasn’t given. He was in the right position to head it home. His volley [for the goal] was a great volley from the corner.
“The subs again made a huge impact on the game. The power we’re able to bring off the bench helped us, and when we went down to ten men, we dug so deep and never gave up any chances and that shows the courage we’ve got in the group.”
And the Barnet manager conceded referee Scott Jackson was most likely correct to send Osedebe off in the second half.
“It looks like it’s a red card in today’s game, so I think the referee probably got that right,” he added. “Fair play to him – he made the right decision.
“But the big thing for me is at least he [Osedebe] was there to make contact and make the tackle because I want our team to tackle. My philosophy is tackling. Everyone thinks it’s possession and stuff like that, but it’s not; it’s tackling.
“We made a lot of tackles today. The more tackles you make, the better opportunity you have of winning a match, so I was happy he went and made that challenge.
“Obviously, his timing of it was wrong, but I thought all the players that came on made a lot of contact, so we could have made more tackles in the first half, and that’s why they [the subs] came on the pitch.”
Barnet host Colchester United on Saturday as they look to continue their improved form and propel themselves further up the League Two table.
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