A dismal day at the office for the Bees today resulted in defeat at the Racecourse Ground, 3-1 at the hands of Wrexham.
Barnet's downfall consisted of terrible defending and poor finishing in an afternoon where both sides should have added to the score line; Giuliano Grazioli was guilty of missing a couple of chances which the striker would normally eat up for breakfast.
At the other end the whole of the back four were torn to shreds by the speed and skill of Wrexham trio Jon Walters, Mark Jones and recent capture from Liverpool Robbie Foy.
This was evident straight from kick off as Barnet for the second time in their last two matches were caught napping at the start of a half. Walters cut inside Anthony Charles with ease and although Scott Tynan did well to keep out the striker's shot, Jones was on hand with the easiest of tap-ins. The opening goal, conceded within 45 seconds.
Wrexham's attacking trio continued to play havoc in the Bees' defence and it was only down to poor finishing that the second goal did not arrive until the 32nd minute. Jones' short corner found Foy unmarked on the edge of the penalty box and although Ian Hendon did well to block the shot, Paul Warhurst had the easiest of chances to slot the ball past Tynan in the Barnet goal.
In between, Barnet did squander a couple of very good chances. Dean Sinclair beat his man to latch onto Hendon's clever free kick but the impressive Michael Ingham got down well to divert the shot. Alex Smith's rash clearance was then almost capitalised on by Grazioli but he volleyed straight at Ingham.
Grazioli then went on to miss the Bees' best chance of the afternoon. Nicky Bailey played the ball through and with only Ingham to beat, Graz fired wide of the far post. As things only got worse for last season's leading marksman, he then went on to see his header smartly saved by Ingham.
Wrexham went on to miss further chances with Foy and Walters both guilty, before Barnet were handed a lifeline in first half stoppage time. Dennis Lawrence failed to deal with Sinclair's burst into the penalty box and the tall defender brought his man down. Referee T. Parkes showed no hesitation in awarding the penalty and Ian Hendon stepped up to smash home the penalty, despite the best efforts of Ingham.
The Bees looked lively at the start of the second half but it was Grazioli again who failed to hit the target. Adam Gross supplied the cross but the striker, perhaps a little surprised as the ball evaded Lawrence even got a kick in the knee for all his efforts, Andy Holt the offender.
Sinclair then blasted Barnet's last hope agonisingly wide of the far post as Wrexham went on to seal the win through Foy's superb strike on 59 minutes. Walters again left the Bees defence standing and Foy rounded off the move with a sweet strike over the flat-footed Tynan.
Barnet's misery got worse as a defence-unlocking pass from Dwane Lee left both Richard Graham and Bailey free on goal only for the two midfielders to get in each other's way and scuff the shot wastefully wide.
Louis Soares looked impressive on debut when introduced for the final minutes but despite all his efforts Grazioli was to put another chance wide.
Barnet fans were left questioning the 451 formation for the second time in the space of two days while being taunted by the Wrexham fans singing, "Can we play you every week".
Probably for the first time this season Barnet really missed the experienced heads of Ismail Yakubu and Simon Clist.
A disappointing bank holiday weekend for the Bees who will be looking to recapture their stunning form shown in the recent away victories at Carlisle, Northampton and Bristol City with the Friday night visit to Cheltenham Town. See you there.
Daniel Fox
