Barnet manager Dean Brennan says the “character and togetherness” of his players got them over the line after the hard-fought 1-0 away win over Accrington Stanley on Tuesday.
The Bees arrived at Wham Stadium with a point to prove after succumbing to two successive defeats but put in a stern defensive display to fend off the hosts and secure three valuable points thanks to Kabongo Tshimanga’s late winner.
“We have 13 cup finals, and that was one of them tonight. I think all the players made an impact tonight,” Brennan told the club website post-match. “The result was the main thing tonight. We had to come here and do a job, and I thought we did a fantastic job. We only won by one goal, but I thought we could have won by more goals.
“I told the players at half-time to keep probing, keep going and to keep sticking together. They showed lots of character and lots of togetherness. We’ve had two bad halves of football. One was Newport on St Stephen's Day, and the other was against Colchester the other day (4-1 defeat).
“To bounce back the way we did shows the character, the grit and the winning mentality we have in the group.
“We had a serious conversation with the whole group on Sunday, where we wanted to press the reset button and everyone start fresh. I thought the players reacted to that really well."
Bees goalkeeper Cieran Slicker made a crucial save in the first half to deny Accrington’s Charlie Brown before going on to keep his 14th clean sheet of the season.
In high praise of his number one stopper, Brennan said: “Slicks is like that. He’s a six-yard box goalkeeper, and in that, he makes great saves. It’s 14 clean sheets this season for Slicks, so it’s an amazing return.
“On tonight, it was all about getting the result. It was all about running power. Could we match their running power and style? I thought we did that really well.”
Tshimanga’s 81st-minute strike sealed the victory for Brennan’s side as he delicately lifted the ball over Accrington goalkeeper Oliver Wright.
“I told Kabi at half-time to keep making those runs on the shoulder and keep gambling as if one of them would make a mistake, and he’s done it. He’s worked his socks off all night, and the finish is brilliant composure,” added Brennan.
“He had to fight off the first centre-half and then the second, managed to get a low centre of gravity, and you only want him on the end of that. He’s been phenomenal for us since he’s come in.”
Barnet host promotion-chasing Chesterfield this weekend (Saturday, 3pm), who are just two places above Brennan’s men in the League Two table.
The Bees find themselves in with a chance of the play-offs this season and sit just three points shy of qualification.
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