Bees below par

8:17pm Saturday 13th October 2001

Barnet 1 Leigh RMI 1

A good team picks up points while playing badly, or so they say. Barnet may not be in the class of Manchester United but they certainly have a penchant for stealing points right at the death.

Mark Arber's fortunate penalty strike, at the second attempt, rescued the Bees on afternoon when they were patently below par.

The first half was a poor affair and did little to excite an expectant home crowd with the first shot on goal only arising after 19 minutes when a Lee Flynn 25-yard free kick went straight to Leigh keeper Mark Westhead. Mark Gower fared little better five minutes later when he fired straight at the wall after Leigh's Iain Swann was penalised for a back pass to Westhead.

A Midgley effort was beaten away by Westhead at his near post but it was the Railwaymen who almost opened the scoring with their first significant attack of the game four minutes before half time.

Good link up play between Ian Monk and Ged Kielty saw the latter hammer a ball into the box and Monk, completely unmarked, put the ball wide of the far post 12 yards out.

Five minutes after the restart and it was Monk again who almost opened the scoring when he was allowed time and space to shoot over the bar from ten yards.

John Still, brought on Roy Essandoh to form a three-pronged attack but it did little to increase his side's potency. In fact Leigh upped the tempo and Monk forced Harrison into an excellent diving save before the away side took the lead on 56 minutes.

Monk found time and space in the Barnet half and with defenders panicking, he squared a beautifully weighted pass into the path of Neil Fisher who calmly stroked home from 18 yards. Three minutes later and Leigh could have doubled their lead when Fisher hit the bar after a good run and a few minutes later Marcus Hallows' header was heading for the top corner before Harrison saved well.

But with ten minutes remaining Barnet got an unlikely reprieve. A flicked header by Essandoh was missed by Swann and as Purser rounded Westhead he was upended for a penalty. Westhead was lucky he only received a yellow card but Mark Arber was even luckier as his saved penalty came back to him giving him a second bite of the cherry and earning Barnet a share of the spoils.

They may not have played like champions, but Barnet may well look back on this game and say it was a point gained rather than two lost.

Team: Harrison, Gledhill, Flynn, Sawyers (Niven 86), Heald, Arber, Bell, Purser, Gower, Midgley (Taylor 69), Brown (Essandoh 55). Subs not used: Naisbitt, Pluck.

Attendance: 1,472

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