Barnet 2-1 Alfreton Town
Barnet manager Martin Allen complimented his team's late comeback to beat bottom of the table Alfreton Town 2-1 on Saturday at the Hive to remain top of the Conference.
The Bees remain unbeaten in their last four games, winning six of their seven matches, while Alfreton Town still haven't picked their first points of the season.
Allen made it clear he wasn't expecting an easy encounter, considering the visitors hadn't won a game yet, as their direct style of play was difficult to manage.
But the Hive chief was delighted to pick up maximum points at the death.
Allen said: “It wasn’t easy. I think every Barnet supporter, player and member of staff - and myself - have all looked over the last few days and seen Barnet top and Alfreton bottom and we all knew that today was going to be a tricky, testing, difficult game.
“Top versus bottom, it’s a tricky fixture. People will have to get used to it. They were very direct. They had two big fellas playing up front and they got it to them as quickly as possible. Their lads competed and I thought that they played very well.”
Alfreton Town took the lead just after half-time as Massiah MacDonald shocked the Bees' crowd in the 47th minute to put The Reds in a commanding position.
“To go 1-0 down just after half time - the stadium was quiet, the players were a bit flat. Coping and dealing with that situation and these types of game is always going to be difficult,” Allen added.
“When you are top there is always an extra added pressure. We’ve all seen it over the years - these games are always what you would call banana skins.”
The visitors then lost defender Lathanial Rowe-Turner in the 60th minute for a foul on John Akinde which resulted in a red card, and Barnet capitalised.
Charlie MacDonald scoring the resulting penalty before Allen introduced substitute Luisma who scored a fantastic free-kick in the 92nd minute to grab the win.
“The fact that we could make those substitutions is a testament to the strength of the squad that we have together. We can change it, we can bring people on, we can play people in different positions,” Allen continued.
“Luisma played so well at Luton on Tuesday, he was fantastic. I knew that he was going to be going on today; he was very close to actually starting the game. He’s got magic. The boy has got magic.”
Barnet are tied on points with Halifax Town but sit top of the table on goal difference, as Allen understands there is no time to rest on their morales with this labouring schedule ahead of them.
“We’ve started the week now with three points,” he concluded. “We go to Dover on Wednesday and then we’ve got a really busy time ahead of us. Everybody knows - supporters, media, players, staff – everybody knows that we are not going to be on top form every game, but we always have to try and keep improving.”
