Barnet manager Martin Allen doesn’t feel that the Bees’ performance against Millwall was worthy of a 4-0 defeat. 

Discussing the EFL Cup 1st Round match, Martin said: 

“It wasn’t a great result but I thought that all the lads had a real go. 

“4-0 wasn’t a true reflection of the game – Millwall scored from two set plays and a penalty.  

“They scored from two set plays against Oldham Athletic on Saturday, so we knew that they were going to be strong in that area.

“But I thought that our players put in a good, committed performance – we just didn’t have enough to break them down. 

“Millwall had fewer chances but they were more clinical. 

“We had a couple cleared off the line, we had a couple of other good strikes and their keeper has made a couple of good saves. 

“Without a shadow of a doubt, their second goal definitely took the wind out of the sails of our players.

“We were full on, going at them and going after them – as we always do.

“But the second goal just knocked our players back.

“You could see a little bit of anxiety crept in, because we don’t go 2-0 down very often. 

“I didn’t think it was a bad performance though and I certainly didn’t think it was a performance worthy of a 4-0 defeat.”

Martin explained his team selection for the match, saying:

“I wanted to get my best headers in the team because Millwall are very strong in the air. 

“Elliott Johnson moved further forward because I wanted a good balance in the team. 

“As we’ve seen over the last couple of years, Elliott does a fantastic job playing in there. 

“Bondz N’Gala deserved an opportunity to play and it’s important that everyone in our squad does play.”

The Barnet manager also revealed that League Two is not the only priority for the rest of the season: 

“We’ve got the EFL Trophy as well,” he said.

“We made a commitment to all of our players and all of our staff that we would go with the best team that we can in that competition. 

“So we’ve still got another cup competition to play before the FA Cup. 

“The next match is always our only priority though. 

“We’ll do everything that we can to get these players freshened up and ready for the next game.”