Barnet 0-0 Town - Half-Time Wednesday, 13th Jul 2016 20:59 Town’s pre-season friendly at Barnet remains goalless at the break but with the home side having come closest to scoring when Elliott Johnson’s shot from distance hit the post. Boss Mick McCarthy named different sides for each half as he did for the 2-1 win at Shelbourne on Saturday. Amongst those absent were strikers Daryl Murphy, who only returned to pre-season training yesterday, and David McGoldrick, who has a hip flexor problem. New signing Adam Webster and left-back Myles Kenlock should be back from their ankle injuries for the Cambridge game on Saturday 23rd July, while Giles Coke ought to be fit for the start of the season having undergone knee surgery at the end of the last campaign. Town had most of the ball in the early stages but the on shot on goal came in the 10th minute from Barnet frontman John Akinde, whose 25 yard strike deflected wide. From the resultant corner the League Two side should have gone in front but Michael Nelson headed over. The Bees began to get the upper hand and in the 16th minute left-back Elliott Johnson unleashed a powerful effort from distance which caught Adam McDonnell on the way through and hit the wrong-footed Bartosz Bialkowski’s left post. The loose ball fell to Ryan Watson, who blazed over when he should have scored. There was another scare for the Blues on 20 when a Christophe Berra slip gifted the ball to Akinde not far outside the Town area. The Scotland international felled the striker as he sought to make amends for his error and brought him down inches outside the area. In a competitive game Berra would almost certainly have been shown a red card but as it was a friendly referee Mick Russell was in a more generous mood. Watson’s freekick hit the wall and deflected wide. Town’s first chance of the game came in the 26th minute when Piotr Malarczyk headed Kevin Bru’s left-wing corner into the sidenetting. Watson saw a shot deflect wide on 32 and from the flag-kick the home side again went close, Bialkowski getting down well to his left to save Nelson’s header. The Blues were still to get going with a determined Bees side not having allowed them time on the ball. Five minutes before the break, Teddy Bishop, again in his narrow right midfield role, won a freekick on the left which Bru sent into the box to Berra, but the centre-half was unable to get a clean contact on the ball, which bounced through to Bees keeper Graham Stack. Bishop, who up to then had had a quieter half than at Shelbourne, made a strong run through the centre on 43 and fed McDonnell to his left but Stack was out quickly to block his shot. Just before the whistle, Bishop won another freekick not far outside the area on the left but Bru’s shot hit the wall. Town were fortunate to go in level at the break with Barnet having been on top and having had two very decent chances to go in front. The Blues had started positively but the Bees then got on top before Town came back into it in the latter stages as Bishop’s influence grew. First-half team: Bialkowski, Emmanuel, Knudsen, Douglas, Malarczyk, Berra, Bishop, Bru, Sears, McLoughlin, McDonnell. Second-half team: Gerken, Chambers, Digby, Smith, Robinson, Blanchfield, Skuse, Hyam, Stewart, Pitman, Dozzell. Subs: Morris, Fowler, C Smith, Patterson.
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