Pre Season Friendly
Tuesday 19 July 19:45

By Lisa van der Wekken

The Bees dominated the first half on Tuesday to defeat home-side St Albans an impressive 3 goals to 1.

Within seven minutes we had our first taste of glory. Giuliano Grazioli scored an inspirational high cross shot, after skilfully out-manoeuvring a Saints defender and keeper Paul Bastock.

And the Bees pressed on, Morgaro Gomis almost scoring again one minute later. In fact, this trialist was outstanding throughout the half.

A series of fouls at around the twenty-minute mark did nothing to overthrow Barnet's dictatorship over the ball. Richard Graham was pulled up out of a headlong rush to goal after being called off-side. A hopeful shot by Grazioli just dipped over the Saints' crossbar.

Another standout was number two Nicky Bailey, whose efforts might have paid dividends if not for a dubious call about halfway through the first. Barnet fans were unimpressed with referee Deadman for a retaliation booking against Bailey – he had been fouled earlier in the game. But they soon cheered after the Bees second goal of the evening. Ben Strevens headed a free kick from Richard Graham 27 minutes in.

The Bees' third goal came just minutes before the end of the first. After more standout chances by Gomis, Grazioli scored his second of the evening, streaking into the rebound from centerfield with a powerful shot into the back of the net. By the end of the half it seemed like curtains for the Saints.

Second Half

The second half had fewer memorable moments. With the exception of Liam Hatch, the introduction of Barnet trialists reduced the fluency of the team's play, allowing the Saints to gain more control over the ball, especially in the latter stages of the game. A well-deserved consolation goal by a City striker saved the Saints from utter annihilation late in the second, but couldn’t match Barnet's goal-scoring efforts in the first half. Congratulations once again Bees.

Bookings

Barnet

Bailey
Not sure if any other bookings

St Albans

Not sure if any bookings

Teams

Barnet

Scott Tynan (Ross Flitney 45), Ian Hendon (Damien Batt 45), Ismail Yakubu (Andy Hodges 45), Simon King, Anthony Charles (Adam Gross 45), Nicky Bailey (Louis Soares 45), Dwane Lee (Michael Alexis 45), Margaro Gomis (Ben Bowditch 45), Ben Strevens (Lee Roache 45), Giuliano Grazioli (Zema Abbey 45), Richard Graham (Liam Hatch 45)

St Albans

P.Bastock, C Kavanagh (A Kabli 67), S Cousins, N Roddis (C Seeby 46), A Nowacki, A Allman, M Hann (M Graham 46), T Davis, S Martin, T Beech, D Cracknell

Unused subs: R Perks, L Clarke

Other Reports

Official Barnet Site
Official St Albans Site
Barnet Times
HYDA (Front page only so will disappear in time)

If you know of any reports please email me the link on info@bfcsa.co.uk

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