Saturday 27th August

Barnet v Grimsby Town

The Mariners

League Position - 15th

Points - 4

Current Sequence - DWL

Colours - Black and White

Back to Underhill once again but this time the Bees sit proudly on top of the table and in the 2nd round of the League Cup.  Grimsby Town are the visitors this week and looking at the previous results data these 2 teams have never before met (please correct if i am wrong).  Both teams come into the game following a midweek League Cup tie.

The Bees

Barnet come into the game following an excellent Carling Cup victory over Bristol City at Ashton Gate.  The Bees ran out 4-2 winners and have earnt themselves a place in the draw for the next round where i am sure everyone will be hoping for an away trip to a Premiership ground.  This would be a good earner for Barnet and a great occasion and with the way the Bees are playing at the moment they could never be ruled out from adding to the history books with a giant killing.  

No doubt the talk on Saturday will be about 'THAT' goal.  The 'wonder goal' scored by Nicky 'the ginger magician' Bailey.  I haven't yet seen the goal myself, however the DVD is on its way.  Despite this goal we cannot forget the rest of the team and the performance that they put in to earn this fantastic victory.  Dwayne Lee notched 2 and Lee Roache returned from injury to the subs bench where he later came on and pounced on a Dwayne Lee centre for Barnet's 4th.

Once again, the Bees came from behind.  Bristol City took the lead however it lasted only a matter of minutes.  A series of Bees corners finally found Dwayne Lee who converted his 1st goal of the season.  Barnet's 2nd was also scored by Lee.  The Bees midfield are certainly enjoying themselves this year.

Barnet were without 3 first team regulars for the trip to Ashton Gate.  The impressive Dean Sinclair and keeper Scott Tynan were both sidelined with knocks.  The seriousness of these injuries is not known but i would imagine Fairclough decided to rest the players with a view to them being fit for the visit of Grimsby.  Ross Flitney took over in goal and made some decent saves as Bristol looked threatening in front of the Bees goal.  Ben Bowditch replaced Deano in midfield and also contributed well throughout the game.  He worked hard and looks an intelligent player.

Prior to the midweek cup victory, Barnet hosted The Silkmen of Macclesfield.  A clean sheet for the Bees and a 1-0 victory saw the Bees leapfrog London rivals Orient to the top spot.  The only goal of the game came courtesy of Nicky Bailey slotting cleanly through the legs of Fettis in the Macclesfield goal.  The Bees had numerous chances but failed to capitalise with Grazioli missing late on when it seemed easier to score.

Injuries

Simon Clist remains on the injury list although he is progressing well.  Hatch will be in the squad for the reserve fixture at Stevenage but looks likely to start on the bench.  Yakubu looks set to make his return to the squad and i would also expect Scotty Tynan and Dean Sinclair to feature.

Grimsby Town

Grimsby come into the game following a trip to Championship side Derby in the Carling cup (playing tonight).  In the league the Mariners currently occupy 15th PLAICE following a sequence of DWL.  A draw on the opening day with Oxford and then a win away to Bristol Rovers provided Grimsby with their 4 points however a loss at home to Darlington saw them fail to put a run of wins together.

Their away fixture to Chester was postponed due to rain so in fairness Grimsby COD be occupying a false position with a game in hand.

Grimsby have only scored 3 goals so far.  2 of these came from the 2-1 away win at Bristol and the other from the draw with Oxford.  Anthony Crane, Martin Gritton and Rob Jones have all grabbed one a piece.  They will be hoping that the Bees keeper is wearing FISH FINGERS on his hands rather than the preferred goalkeepers gloves this Saturday.

An interesting fact for prediction league participants - All of Grimsby's goals, both for and against, have come in the second half.

The Match

So - The Bees go into the game on a roll.  Can anything or anyone stop them?  Most importantly can Grimsby stop them?  I think not.  However i could be wrong.  At the moment, with the way the Bees are playing, they certainly look unstoppable.  Anyone that stands in the way seems to get pushed aside with ease.  Can Grimsby compete with the 5 man midfield?  Not unless they have something FISHY up their sleeve.  Will they end the goal scoring run of super Nicky Bailey?  Don't count on it.  

This match has a Barnet win written all over it.  I advise that people start taking note of this Barnet side and get down to Underhill to see what has been described by many as 'one of the best Barnet sides ever'.  What do the Bees have to do to attract a crowd?  They certainly haven't done anything to deter their fans this season.  This is being left to Megson of Forest and Rosenior of Torquay.  Barnet are a team at the top and a team that continue to play some beautiful football.  If you are thinking about going on Saturday then stop thinking.  GO!

Weather - Sun behind a cloud again

Prediction - Barnet 2 - 0 Grimsby - (I don't like fish)