Barnet 1 United 1
United stopped the rot of three successive league defeats with a hard fought point at Barnet on Tuesday evening. United played the better football but it looked as though the home side's 15th minute opener was going to be enough until Scott Rendell headed an equaliser with just five minutes remaining.
Bucks made one change to the starting line-up from the team that lost to Burton on Saturday; Chris Hargreaves made way for Tyrone Thompson in central midfield which meant there was a place for Kevin Nicholson on the bench. Nicky Wroe wore the captain's armband in Hargreaves' absence.
United started brightly and Chris Zebroski had an early sight at goal but his effort went harmlessly wide of goal. The home side were forced into an early change when Yakubu went off injured to be replaced by O'Neill. The early stages were comfortable for the Gulls but out of the blue the home side took the lead when a deep cross was chested back by the evergreen Paul Furlong and Sawyer smashed the ball home from close range giving Poke no chance. As it turned out it was Barnet's only attempt on target in the whole match. Moments later and Furlong had a chance to double the lead but he lobbed both Michael Poke and the United crossbar.
Barnet 1 (Sawyer 15) United 0
Jake Thomson forced a save from Cole with a twenty yard free-kick after a foul on Tyrone Thompson and United may have been a goal down but they were playing the better football of two teams that weren't hitting too many heights half an hour in. The offside trap was arguably the two team's strikers biggest opponent at times with both defences looking out of sorts but as the half crept along United were putting together the better passages of passing.
The second half immediately saw United on the front foot and it set the pattern for the remainder of the match with the home side looking less and less likely to trouble Michael Poke. Elliot Benyon forced a save from Cole with a shot from 12 yards and shortly after Chris Zebroski had an opportunity but the ball got stuck behind him and the chance passed.
In the 54th minute Sam Cox made his United debut when he replaced Lee Mansell. Cox then went straight in at left back with Adam Smith switching over to Mansell's previous position. Cox was involved straight away and had a positive effect when in possession.
The Gulls were a goal down and were lacking a cutting edge in the final third but they were still the more likely to score the game's next goal. Scott Rendell shot over after some neat play and Chris Robertson shot wide from a Thomson corner as United asked all of the questions in the second half.
Danny Stevens was introduced with twenty minutes left for play in place of Elliot Benyon and the winger also impressed on the left of midfield. United were applying more and more pressure and after goalmouth scramble and two corners they eventually drew level. A low cross from Jake Thomson was met by the head of Scott Rendell and despite the efforts of Furlong the ball went in and it was one-all thanks to Rendell's ninth goal of the season.
Barnet 1 United 1 (Rendell 85)
Danny Stevens almost snatched the three points for United with a low shot that had Cole beaten but also the post from 20 yards. The home side were hanging on by this point and the final event was Jake Thomson being replaced by Eunan O'Kane for his third substitute appearance.
A draw was the least the Gulls deserved and although it wasn't a vintage performance it was many levels above the Burton match and will give the players and supporters a boost ahead of the visit of Bradford at the weekend.
Bucks was pleased with his team's efforts at Barnet and was a little disappointed that all three points weren't won come the end: 'There was a lot of quality when we got the ball tonight, we really did keep it well. Barnet's goal came out of nothing although it was a very good finish from the boy. We kept at it; we kept believing and kept passing. Our supporters were terrific and the long trip here from Devon has been made worthwhile tonight.
'You know with Paul Furlong that he is dangerous at the back post, he has made a good living out of that and it was a good finish from Sawyer and sometimes you have to take that on the chin. Our players weren't looking too disappointed and we were telling them to keep playing their football and keep passing the ball and eventually we did get back into the game.
'At a goal down we could have felt sorry for ourselves and I wanted the players to remain positive so there is no point me being negative on the side. Even after we got the goal we were taking quick free-kicks and looking for the win. We asked plenty of questions of Barnet tonight and I don't think they had too many answers and we are disappointed we didn't win the game.
'We kept moving the ball and feeding the wingers which is the way we want to play, we have our style of play and we just feel that we could have taken all three points tonight.'
Paul was also asked about the Chris Hargreaves situation: 'Nothing has changed really since I spoke about this yesterday. Chris is at home sorting his future out, I am a forward thinking manager and we are a forward thinking club and it is time for Chris to move on. I have had no problem with Chris Hargreaves but we have had a conversation during the transfer window and it is time for him to move on. As you have seen tonight we have got some young, enterprising players and they have got to step forward now, they have to show character and if they keep playing as they did tonight we will be absolutely fine.'
