It was a tale of two strikers as Barnet’s Nicke Kabamba took the headlines ahead of Dominic Poleon as his hat-trick outscored the Fleet’s striker’s brace in a pulsating encounter at The Hive.
Fleet took the initiative courtesy of Poleon’s opener and then equalised late on in a ding-dong battle against one of the National League’s leading sides from last season, but were disappointed to concede Kabamba’s winner 10 minutes from time.
For all that disappointment, Fleet are showing they can live with the challenges of this league and Barnet showed the division’s new boys plenty of respect in their considerable efforts to win the game. Plus an early injury to Jack Wakely certainly didn’t help Fleet’s gameplan, the centre-back heading to hospital after being stretchered off.
Four changes were in place for this second game within 48 hours and saw Shaq Coulthirst start against his old club, along with Joe Martin, Ouss Cissé and Toby Edser, with Nathan Odokonyero, Craig Tanner, Chris Solly and Franklin Domi stepping aside.
Retaining their places were Ben Chapman and Poleon, meaning both players chalked up their 100th appearance each for the club.
Wearing the away kit for the first time this season, Fleet won a corner inside the first minute that Edser placed into Laurie Walker’s hands before Barnet won their own 20 seconds later, that one nestling on top of the net.
Mark Cousins, another on his old home ground, might have watched that go over but he needed to be alert to Barnet’s next attack as Harry Pritchard made the most of an awkward bounce for Wakely to smash a shot goalwards.
Sadly, that was Wakely’s last involvement as moments later he was brought to ground in a challenge the Fleet bench were none too happy about. The Wycombe loanee was stretchered off, to be replaced by Haydn Hollis.
Ben Wynter kept the Barnet pressure up with an effort that Martin helped out for another corner before they created their best chance on 16 minutes. Ben Coker got past Luke O’Neill’s slip to cross to the far post where Kabamba might have been advised to shoot but he fizzed a delivery back into the middle that, fortunately for the Fleet, found no teammate.
The visitors plan to unleash Poleon on Barnet’s strategy of keeping former Chelmsford centre-half Ade Oluwu on his own at the back almost came off a couple of times with some searching balls from Chapman. And on 21 minutes, the same two players combined but via a rather different approach. Chapman battled through the middle and might have laid it wide for Coulthirst but he slipped and instead Poleon down the right was the option. Needing no second bidding to find the bottom corner off Walker’s fist, Fleet’s top scorer celebrated his 100th appearance with his 62nd club goal.
Barnet’s corner count rose on the half hour with three successive set-pieces, the last of which cleared Cousins and might have landed over the line before veering just off target.
Fleet frustrated Barnet’s midfield prowess in the final third for the remainder of the half though the home side came close three minutes before the break, Pritchard on the end of a cross to divert the ball back along goal to Kabamba but the poor touch didn’t reach him.
And the same pair combined through the middle moments later, this time the ball reaching Kabamba but he slid it wide of the Fleet goal. Former Maidenhead man Pritchard was certainly involved, finding himself behind the Fleet defence in the eight minutes of added time to toe the ball wide from 18 yards.
The visitors were almost home and dry as far as the first-half was concerned when one last attack down the right from Wynter finally delivered a cross that Kabamba could profit from and he bent low to head it past Cousins for the equaliser.
Zak Brunt was the first to trouble Cousins after the break with a shot from outside the box that the Fleet goalkeeper pushed aside for a corner and he was then called into action once more to tip over, via the crossbar, Anthony Hartigan’s follow-up.
Barnet kept pressing with plenty of possession but weren’t getting many shots away until the next one that counted on 62 minutes. It came from Kabamba again who tucked away a close-range effort after a neat approach culminating in Brunt’s delivery, Wynter keeping the Fleet defence busy for Kabamba to exploit.
And they could have made it 3-1 two minutes later when another good move through the Fleet defence opened up the target for Brunt who lifted a shot too high with the goal at his mercy.
Barnet were left to rue that on 69 minutes when Darren McQueen’s run and cross from the right was too much for Dale Gorman and there was Poleon on the end of it to gobble it up right in front of the exuberant Fleet following.
The lively Brunt had two more efforts off target, the second after O’Neill had slipped in a dangerous position just outside his own box. And Brunt was the architect of the fifth goal of the afternoon 10 minutes from the end when Barnet got away on the break from a Fleet corner. Brunt’s high floated delivery was a deceptive one and it fell kindly for Kabamba to get a touch and send the ball the wrong side of Cousins for his hat-trick.
Cousins stopped substitute Courtney Senior’s shot as Barnet sought to kill off the resilient Fleet and then saw out the seven minutes of added time to snag the points.
EUFC: Cousins, O’Neill, Martin, Wakely (Hollis 9), Cissé, Wright, Edser, Chapman (Domi 75), McQueen, Coulthirst (Odokonyero 67), Poleon. Subs: Clifford, Amoo
BFC: Walker, Coker, Collinge, Okimo, Gorman (Hall-Johnson 81), Kabamba, Pritchard, Hartigan, Wynter (Senior 81), Oluwo (Potter 73), Brunt. Subs: Armstrong, Barratt
Attendance: 1,888 (EUFC 285)
Vote for your man of the match.
