BRENNAN'S RESURGENT BEES START TO MOTOR

BARNET secured a narrow victory over a Southend United side who had deservedly levelled in the second half, only to be denied by a 70th-minute penalty from Mark Shelton.

- David Bloomfield

Substitutes played a vital role in this match with Barnet – boosted by the signings of and Rohat Matyar and Ryan Glover on Friday – better positioned to influence the match from the bench.

With three consecutive victories from their opening four matches – having lost the season opener at FC Halifax Town – Barnet seemed to have put last season’s play-off disappointment behind them.

“We are all buzzing, but we’ll not be getting ahead of ourselves,” warned head coach Dean Brennan. “Its a long season with 42 games to go.”

Brennan suffered a setback in the week after talismanic midfielder Harry Pritchard left the club due to “health issues”.