Barnet manager Martin Allen was frustrated after his side’s toothless defeat to AFC Wimbledon on Saturday.

The Bees travelled to Kingsmeadow having won two of their previous three matches, but were played off the park as goals from Lyle Taylor and Sean Rigg claimed the win for the hosts.

And it was a performance which left Allen tearing up his pre-match plans as Barnet lacked any influence on the match.

“We were just off - we were not quite at the races. We changed formation, we changed players, we changed everything to try and spark something,” said the Bees head coach.

“We weren’t athletic enough, we weren’t mobile enough, we didn’t play enough, right the way through the team.

“We had a little bit of spark but that extra yard of pace and competitive nature that we’ve got throughout our team today was just half a yard short, right from the beginning.”

John Akinde had two good opportunities within the first five minutes for the visitors, however on both occasions the powerful forward seemed to get the ball stuck underneath his feet.

And he was left ruing his slow start when Taylor struck the opener for the hosts.

George Francomb played in the 25-year-old striker down the right side of the penalty box, who rolled his man before slamming into the opposite corner.

The Dons may have doubled their lead had Ade Azeez connected with Taylor’s whipped cross, before a weaving run from Francomb resulted in a blocked effort inside the area.

Eye on the ball: Ade Azeez

The Bees boss introduced Michael Gash with less than half an hour played, as he reverted to playing two strikers upfront.

But the substitution failed to have the desired impact, and after 33 minutes the hosts were awarded a penalty when Michael Nelson needlessly brought down Azeez, although Max Crocombe did well to deny Francomb’s resulting spot-kick.

Allen would have been hoping for a better performance in the second half, but Wimbledon nullified any threat from the visitors until the game exploded into life in a nervy final few minutes.

Star striker Akinde saw his dangerous cross blocked, before Rigg missed a chance to seal victory when he fired an effort from the edge of the box just wide.

Barnet surged forward as they looked for a late equaliser, with goalkeeper Crocombe joining the attack as Barnet won a series of late corners.

But they were made to pay for the New Zealand youngster’s bold move, as Azeez broke away and played in Rigg, who made no mistake as he slotted into an open goal to seal a win for Ardley’s men.