After two pitch inspections the game at Gigg Lane went ahead which gave Ian Hendon the opportunity to send out a Barnet team with his name on it after the match at Underhill against Grimsby Town had been postponed last week.
The playing surface was hard, on the odd occasion players were unsteady on their feet and the conditions were certainly not conducive to good football.
Ian Hendon selected a 4-4-2 formation with the clear intention of going for a victory. Abu Agogo partnered Michael O'Leary in central midfield with Max Porter operating at right back. With Michael Townsend a flu victim Ismail Yakubu returned to central defence. Debutants Tommy Black and Paul Furlong started on the left wing and upfront respectively.
Players were literally finding their finding their feet in the first half and cohesive passing movements were a rarity although on 18 minutes Furlong did hook over from a Black corner which nearly gave the Bees a lead.
In the 36th minute the home side scored when a cross was floated to the far post where Mike Jones waited patiently for the ball to fall to his feet before despatching his shot into the corner of the net.
In the second half Bury tried to extend their lead but they encountered a Ran Kadoch in determined mood. He bravely smothered danger, rushing at an advancing player's feet and leaping acrobatically to keep out goal bound efforts. He has improved dramatically.
Black was becoming more influential on the left for the Bees. Although dominantly right footed he gave the side balance and he showed that he can deliver dangerous passes or crosses into the penalty box.
Barnet rallied themselves and eagerly pushed for an equaliser as the half progressed with both Black and substitute Adam Birchall having opportunities to score.
Furlong led the line well, he has a presence and a good touch. It could be that his pairing with skipper John O'Flynn will be fruitful in terms of goals.
Albert Adomah was delivering numerous early crosses into the box, although when the situation arose for him to go on a mazy run he did so, but also evident was his tracking back to thwart Bury developing attacks down their left flank.
Not a great game by any stretch of the imagination, the conditions being primarily responsible for that, but the Bees did manage to take the game to the Shakers in the last half an hour with the play largely being confined to in and around the Bury penalty box.
Naturally pushing for an equaliser did set the scene for Bury to mount counter attacks but the defence remained resilient.
Kadoch joined the attack when the Bees forced two late corners and he attacked the ball with such determination that had the delivery been slightly different he could well have won Barnet a point with his efforts at both ends of the pitch.
The consensus at the final whistle was that Barnet had done enough to deserve something out of the game and that the Bees looked a determined and well organised outfit. Post match Ian Hendon was confident that that this level of commitment and application would soon be rewarded with points to add to the tally.
The Bees take on the high flying Dagenham & Redbridge outfit in a local derby at Underhill next Saturday.
David Bloomfield.
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