Sam Bunce
Kabongo Tshimanga’s double earned Barnet a narrow victory at Meadow Lane to condemn promotion hopefuls Notts County to successive defeats for the first time since August.
Lee Ndlovu was leading the line in the reverse fixture for Barnet when Tyrese Hall’s last-gasp winner sent the travelling supporters into delirium.
He has since switched allegiances, and the striker proved to be a nuisance when isolated against his former teammates physically in the opening stages.
Ndlovu sent Nikola Tavares tumbling to the floor by outmuscling the central defender, but Cieran Slicker’s starting position enabled him to smother.
The 4-0 drubbing Notts County suffered at promotion rivals Cambridge unfolded through set-piece frailties and County’s early concession at Meadow Lane was no different.
Barnet’s short-corner routine culminated in Ryan Glover’s magnificent swivel in the box to find Kabongo Tshimanga.
The marksman’s sublime flick from close range just after the half an hour mark beat James Belshaw and gave a deserved wake-up call from dead-ball situations for the hosts.
Barnet’s work to get ahead was quickly undone courtesy of the provider from their opening goal. Glover came recklessly steaming in to quite clearly take out Ndlovu with a sliding challenge and gave away a penalty.
Winger Jodi Jones had been reinstated into Martin Paterson’s lineup, and he held his nerve to slot into the bottom left corner from the penalty spot. Four minutes later, it was all square once again.
Matthew Dennis reversed roles momentarily with Ndlovu by darting into the space and receiving the ball from his striking counterpart with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Similar to the earlier save, Slicker closed off the angle, prevailing by forcing the County striker to select the wrong type of finish.
In pursuit of retaking the lead themselves, Barnet captain Anthony Hartigan’s free-kick was powerfully headed a whisker over the bar by Callum Stead before Nnamdi Oforborh’s effort whistled off target.
Just after the County faithful had returned to their seats from the interval, hoping for their side to be incentivised by an automatic promotion opportunity, they had an early scare.
Jacob Bedeau misjudged his lunging interception, and Tshimanga latched onto the loose ball under pressure by Lucas Ness and struck the right post.
Dean Brennan’s side continued to knock louder on the door; the perfect snapshot of their consistently competitive first season back in League Two.
Adam Senior had plenty of time to pick his spot from the edge of the area, but he flashed his volleyed shot just wide of the left post upon receiving Glover’s inviting cut back.
The Bees were granted a transition opportunity and opted to turn it down, but County were just as vulnerable when they were set defensively.
Stead cut inside Bedeau and delivered into the box in the 69th minute. Tshimanga’s undetected movement to find himself between the centre-backs afforded him the space to instinctively prod home for his second of the game and bag his sixth goal from the last four games.
Tom Iorpenda’s industry led by example to attempt to revive the subdued home supporters, despite losing out a few times as the away side defended their box diligently and soaked up any pressure when necessary.
Tshimanga could have then put the game to bed late on. He got the better of the floundering Ness and was presented with a golden chance by his standards without obstruction to net a memorable hat-trick. County escaped as the striker’s shot rose over the bar.
Eight minutes of additional time, County could still salvage a valuable point to at least help fulfill their objectives this term. You certainly wouldn’t have put it past them based on previous games.
Instead, substitute Beck-Ray Enoru blazed over from the edge of the box, and that was the only chance they managed to conjure in stoppage time. Disgruntled supporters streamed out, rightly.
It could be attributed to a lack of quality or just ideas. But the character Martin Paterson has often improved, which has notably seen them surpass last term’s points haul, was largely nonexistent in the final moments.
Here are the key talking points:
Resignation to the play-offs or embracing an opportunity
This is the first time since August that Notts County have lost two games in a row in League Two. Certainly not the ideal moment for points to be consistently dropped, faltering at the final hurdles before the finish line.
After more than 10 years of waiting to reclaim third tier status, it looks as if County supporters will have to settle for the longer route of play-offs, and then potentially break the hoodoo.
Casting their minds back to crashing out in the play-off semi-finals against AFC Wimbledon almost a year ago, there is dread that it could all happen again. A hint of false hope.
The play-off spot this season is not confirmed just yet, though. County will be thankful that fellow play-off hopefuls Swindon and Chesterfield meet on the final day, while overcoming Colchester United away and Bristol Rovers at home should be achievable, given their superior position.
Neither of those teams are playing for anything, apart from potentially causing an upset.
The automatic promotion pursuit was on the precipice of shattering following the humiliation at Cambridge. Although strange things can happen at the business end of the season, if you’re stumbling too often approaching the finish line, your competitors will likely pip you.
Neil Harris’ Cambridge now need to win two of their remaining three fixtures to be promoted automatically, while Bromley sealed promotion due to County’s loss on Saturday.
None of these sides jostling at the top have been perfect in recent weeks, but County’s much more regular defeats have ultimately caused them to fall behind.
If they are to progress to League One under Martin Paterson, it seems it will have to be at Wembley.
The players must summon and rediscover the character and purpose on the pitch that they have exhibited at their best.
Costly set-piece shortcomings damaging to promotion credentials
One long throw, two free-kicks, one corner. That was the story of the four conceded goals in Cambridge, and their troubles hadn’t been resolved back in Nottingham.
There had been warning signs before the breakthrough goal and County’s defensive problems from set-pieces were exploited throughout the game against Barnet.
Rod McDonald started his first game at centre-back since 21st March amidst Matty Platt’s lengthy layoff through injury.
Restoring stability and intelligence to fend off the waves of threat, he still also struggled at vital times, like Bedeau and Ness, as the game wore on to nullify Tshimanga, alongside Stead and Glover.
Allowing too much space let Notts down, even when simply following a man at a corner.
It begs the question of disorganisation as well as the lacklustre commitment to the cause.
Goalkeeper James Belshaw has worn the shirt as a lifelong fan and has largely been dependable and composed in goal since joining in January; however, when he is simply unprotected, he is left helpless.
Verdict on Ndlovu acting as an outlet partnered with Dennis
Ndlovu, 31, has scored just twice for County in five starts, but his persistent press against Barnet in the first half was a threatening trait that unsettled the visiting back line.
Against his former club, he ran the channels using his physically imposing frame aggressively and with intelligence.
County skipped the patient and prolonged build-up play to find their focal point and this caused a handful of headaches for the opposition, albeit to no avail.
This more direct approach functioned well against a team unwilling to retreat deep defensively, and Paterson was right to point his players towards that tactic, if he did so.
Matthew Dennis’ role to occupy defenders and shift the ball forwards wasn’t set in stone as Ndlovu did switch when necessary.
Both spurned big chances against the goalkeeper, ones you’d favour the Barnet striker to bury. They chose the wrong finish by pulling the trigger straight away and hitting the keeper.
Alassana Jatta remains the club’s top scorer despite his injury setbacks, and he served the last of the three-match suspension he received for violent conduct following the defeat at Salford.
The temptation to move elsewhere may gradually be enough to sway the Gambian international to one of his many admirers should County slip up in the run-in again.
So, is Ndlovu the man to spearhead the Magpies forwards, and is it always suitable for him to play alongside Matthew Dennis?
Either way, Ndlovu’s strengths lie in what he showed in glimpses at Meadow Lane, doggedly unsettling the defenders.
Opposition Analysis: Standout Glover runs show in polished Barnet performance
Successive promotions might be a stretch, but now it’s a real possibility. Returning to the Football League after almost a decade out, The Bees have picked the perfect moment of the season to hit their stride.
Five wins from their last six games were not earned from playing teams without anything up for grabs or out-of-form outfits.
Instead, they emerged from playing MK Dons, Cambridge and league leaders Bromley without suffering a defeat.
After signing from Crawley Town in January as the swift replacement for the outgoing Ndlovu, Tshimanga’s integration has been as smooth as you’ll get. The 28-year-old is in the richest vein of form arguably of any striker in the football pyramid, currently.
He shone and spearheaded his side to victory at Meadow Lane with two unhesitant and clinical finishes, but the supporting cast had a major impact.
Aside from his rash challenge to give away a penalty minutes after contributing to the opening goal, everything ran through Glover, capitalising on every gap left by the hosts and gliding confidently across every blade of grass with the ball.
Limping off in the 85th minute after exerting a lot of energy, the Barnet faithful will hail their orchestrator in midfield heading back to North London, whose consistency over the past two seasons is indisputable.
The type of player that goes unnoticed, overshadowed by the likes of Tshimanga.
But without him and the rest of Brennan’s well-oiled ranks, Barnet wouldn’t be within touching distance of clinching the final play-off spot.
In eighth place, the dream is not over just yet, with two games to go against Gillingham and rock bottom Harrogate Town. Their fate is still in the hands of others since Grimsby Town and Chesterfield sit above them.
Sam Bunce
Featured image courtesy of Jocey Nel. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @nottscountyfc via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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