Barnet fell for a third consecutive league defeat, losing 4-1 to Micky Mellon’s Oldham Athletic at the Hive.
Barnet FC’s Ade Oluwo and Oldham Athletic’s Mike Fondop engaged in action during their Vanarama National League clash at the Hive London.
Having lost two consecutive league matches, Barnet looked to return to winning ways, hosting 11th-placed Oldham on home soil.
Despite a positive start from the home side, a defensive mishap enabled Mike Fondop a clear goalscoring opportunity, but Laurie Walker denied him with a professional foul inside the penalty area.
What was initially awarded red was reduced to a yellow card, but nevertheless, James Norwood opened the scoring with a confident penalty kick into the top-right corner.
The Bees brought the game back level in the second half after some spectacular individual work from Idris Kanu, slaloming past two Latics shirts before earning a penalty of his own. Harry Pritchard stepped up to take it, smashing it past Mat Hudson for the equaliser.
The lead was shortly lived, with Norwood and Fondop combining, and the latter producing a sublime finish to retake the lead.
It was Norwood who capitalised on a tired and outnumbered Bees defence, driving the ball past a helpless Ade Oluwo and past Walker before placing it into an empty net.
The game wasn’t quite finished without a fourth to send the 234 Latics fans home happy, with Norwood finding substitute Hallam Hope open in front of goal, feeding it past Walker yet again.
The visitors move up to 10th, with a home fixture against Ebbsfleet United up next on the weekend. A win against Dennis Kutrieb’s side could potentially propel them into a playoff position.
Meanwhile, despite remaining in 2nd place, Barnet have a lot of work to do, starting with a tough test away at their rivals, Wealdstone. Dean Brennan is no stranger to Stuart Maynard & Wealdstone, and will be hoping to make it three wins in a row against the Stones.
Brennan made four alterations to the side that lost to Gateshead. In came the experienced Gary Hooper alongside more attacking reinforcement in Callum Stead. Jerome Okimo and Dale Gorman were also preferred to Finley Potter and Zak Brunt.
Meanwhile, Mellon named an unchanged side to the XI that beat Woking on the weekend.
However, it were the hosts that started on the front foot, with Callum Stead firing just wide of the Oldham goal just minutes into the game.
Idris Kanu and Nicke Kabamba combined well to find early openings for the Bees, but Brennan’s side couldn’t find the back of Mat Hudson’s goal.
The opener came for the visitors, against the run of play. A high press initiated by Mike Fondop provoked a miscommunication at the back from Okimo and Laurie Walker, leaving the Oldham forward baring down on an empty net.
Barnet’s number one subsequently brought down Fondop before he could slide the ball into the goal, prompting referee Paul Johnson to point to the spot and award Walker with a straight red card.
However, due to the double-jeopardy rule stating that a last-man foul in the penalty area is only awarded a yellow card, Johnson reduced the offence to a yellow card.
The following penalty was taken by former Barnsley forward, James Norwood, smashing his effort into the top-right corner, sending the loyal Latics support into a frenzy.
The visitors started to assert their control, with Fondop forcing Walker into a diving stop to prevent Oldham from running away with the game.
Mellon’s side may have wrapped things up by half-time, with some excellent one-touch link-up play from Norwood and Devarn Green setting up Nathan Sheron for the half-volley, but the 26-year-old couldn’t divert the attempt on goal.
In saying that, the hosts weren’t giving up without a fight. The Bees had a goal chalked off after Kabamba scored from an offside position, proving that Barnet still had something to offer.
There was a big shout for a penalty kick on the brink of half-time, with Stead gunning down the wing on the right, cutting back intelligently only to be blocked by his marker but the referee didn’t feel that there was enough in it.
One last opportunity for the Bees deep into injury time saw Kanu dance through two of the Oldham defenders, finding Gorman with a cross to the far post. The Barnet captain set the ball into the feet of the incoming Gary Hooper, but the glorious opportunity was deflected away from the net by a Latics defender.
However, it was a similar pattern that Barnet managed to find an opening for the equaliser. Idris Kanu yet again dumbfounded the two defenders targeted to mark him, gliding into the box, before deftly cutting to his right foot and being taken down in the area.
This time, Paul Johnson elected to point to the spot, leaving Harry Pritchard to emphatically fire the penalty into the top-left corner to get the Bees back on track.
It took only four minutes for the visitors to regain control. A ball through to Norwood allowed Oldham to play on another quick counter. The 33-year-old committed on a through ball into Fondop, and with Oluwo failing to intercept the ball, the Latics’ number nine spectacularly lofted the ball into the roof of the net upon receiving it to retake the lead.
Warning signs started to show for the hosts as Norwood was played in again one-on-one with Ade Oluwo, however, this time 23-year-old managed to distract him, albeit the offside flag was raised regardless.
With 15 minutes of regular time remaining, yet another forced long ball was met by Norwood, with Oluwo this time falling short of Oldham’s talisman, and the Englishman was able to take the ball past Walker for an easy finish into the back of an empty net.
Just as things couldn’t get worse for the home side, the Latics added a fourth on 90 minutes, with Norwood finding a back route again past a tired, deflated Bees defence. He selflessly played the ball into Hallam Hope, who tucked away his finish calmly before wheeling off to celebrate with the 234 travelling fans.
What may only be described as a capitulation described yet another frustrating result for the Bees, while also proving that despite a slow start to the season, Oldham may be a side that are up there come the end of April.
The 33-year-old definitely still has it. The forward had an impeccable performance, recording two goals and two assists. His tally now racks up to an impressive 11 goals in the league, and if Oldham are to climb up the table, he will be the key to their success.
Aside from his goalscoring capabilities, his off-the-ball play also enabled the Latics to build pressure on the counter, tiring the Barnet defence constantly.
