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Match Preview: Luton Town v Barnet

Luton Town v Barnet

Kenilworth Road

Saturday 14th November 2015

Kick Off: 15:00

Barnet: The Bees kept their good run of form going with a 2-0 FA Cup victory over League One Blackpool last Saturday – Martin Allen’s side will face either Newport County or Brackley Town at The Hive in the 2nd Round. Barnet have now won four and drawn one of their last five matches in all competitions, so will be full of confidence ahead of their trip to Luton. The Bees had trouble converting performances on the road into results earlier this season, but seem to have addressed their travel sickness in recent weeks. The Bees drew with Hartlepool (1-1) and beat Oxford United (3-2) in their last two away games. Bira Dembele and Graham Stack will miss out on Saturday through injury, but the rest of the Barnet squad are fit for this weekend’s fixture.

Martin’s View: “Luton were very unlucky last year. They had a lot of injuries at the end of last season, which knocked their form. John Still is a very good manager who brings in very good players. John’s teams are always honest, hardworking, and play some good football.”

Watch more of the manager’s pre-match interview here.

Luton Town: Luton are just two points above Barnet and currently lie in 13th place. The Hatters beat Crawley Town 2-1 away in the FA Cup last weekend, and recorded a 2-0 win over Dagenham the previous Sunday. However their form has been inconsistent this year and Luton hadn’t won for four games prior to that match. The Hatters have also been better on the road than at home this season – only winning nine points at Kenilworth Road so far.

In The Dugout:  John Still will be a familiar name to most Barnet fans, having managed the club between 1997 and 2000. He also had a spell as caretaker manager following the departure of Tony Cottee in 2001. The Bees enjoyed two successful Division Three campaigns while Still was in charge – losing in the play-off semi-finals to Colchester United (1997-1998) and Peterborough United (1999-2000) after 7th place finishes in both seasons. The West Ham-born coach signed Barnet legends Darren Currie and Scott McGleish while in the Underhill hot seat, as well as breaking the club’s transfer record when £136,000 defender Greg Heald joined the Bees. Still has enjoyed great success since leaving Barnet – winning promotion to League Two and then League One with Dagenham & Redbridge, before winning the Conference title with Luton Town in 2013-14.

Dangermen: Both of the Hatters joint top scorers have arrived at Kenilworth Road from East Anglian clubs this season.  Jack Marriott has seven goals in all competitions, having joined from Ipswich Town in the summer. The forward graduated from the Tractor Boys youth academy before making three appearances for Mick McCarthy’s side. Marriott enjoyed a handful of loan spells while at Ipswich, the most productive of which was with Woking – the 21-year-old scored 13 goals in 24 appearances.  Cameron McGeehan has also struck seven times this campaign, since his move to Bedfordshire. The former Norwich City midfielder never made a senior appearance for the Canaries, but had been on loan at Luton on two previous occasions before his permanent transfer this year. McGeehan, 20, has also represented Northern Ireland at Under 17, Under 19 and Under 21 level.

Last Meeting: Barnet last played Luton Town in the 2013-14 season – the year that the Hatters romped to the Conference title. The match took place at Kenilworth Road in almost unplayable conditions on 1st January 2014. Luton ran out 2-1 winners in a game more notable for the torrential rain that day than the football on display. Andre Gray gave the home side the lead after just two minutes, before Paul Benson doubled their advantage on the half hour mark. Jake Hyde pulled one back after 71 minutes, but it wasn’t enough for Barnet to take anything from the game. The Bees finished that season in 8th place, but went on to win the division the following year.

Ticket Details: Barnet supporters will be housed in the stadium’s Oak Road Stand, where admission prices are: Adults – £20.00, Seniors (over 65’s) – £15.00, Young Adults (under 22’s) – £15.00, Golden Seniors (Over 75’s) – £12.00, Youths (Under 18’s) – £8.00, Juniors (Under 10’s) – £5.00.  The deadline to buy tickets for this match from The Hive has passed, but you can still purchase tickets from Luton Town’s Ticket Office by phone, until 12:30 on matchday. To find out more details click here.

Travel: The supporters’ coach leaves The Hive at 12:30 and costs £19 return. You can also get a shuttle bus to The Hive for just £1 each way. For more details click here.

Follow The Match: If you can’t get to Kenilworth Road, you can listen to full commentary of the match on Bees Player HD. We’ll also have live twitter updates throughout the game here, and a match report & post-match reaction on barnetfc.com.