Stung! Of Flying Insects, New Football Stadia and Other Matters.

Barnet versus Oxford United

Saturday 19th March, 2016 - 3pm k-o
League Two

Yes, yes, we all know you've tuned in excitedly to see some of those complicated Ryman Premier League calculations; but first you must, like me, sit through a Division Two game, as a neutral. A former work colleague of mine (Jez) is a keen Oxford United fan of many years standing - and quite a few more sitting down. By way of a catch-up, we had agreed to head to a ground that would be new to us both, to follow the U's continued assault on the top of the table. 

Barnet FC no longer play at their spiritual home of "Underhill". They returned to The Football League this season, after a brief spell in the doldrums of The National League. However, Barnet no longer play in Barnet, at all. It's a long story, allegedly involving land leases, recalcitrant councillors, disgruntled club fans and much more, besides. It's all too convoluted a saga to engage in here, you may be pleased to hear.

Fans are asked not to demonstrate their linguistic skills: no French or German here, please; until after the EU referendum, at least.

Barnet are nick-named The Bees. See what they did, there? Clever, huh? And they play in the colours of a demented swarm of, well ... errrm ... bees. So their new ground is, of course, called The Hive. See what they did, there? Clever, huh? What else could it have been called? In exchange for leaving their home of 106 years, Barnet have been able to construct a modern, purpose-built stadium, within sight of "New" Wembley. The complex has several training pitches, ample parking, conference and executive facilities and one of the windiest locations known to North Londoners, where no self-respecting bumble bee would have ever have set up their hive. It also feels like a drive of about 10 nautical miles from the nearest civilised pub, through some of the most congested of residential streets. Jez was able to get there quicker from High Wycombe than I could manage from Enfield, just a few, short miles away, as the football crow flies. Long gone are the days when I could conveniently just jump onto a number 307 bus, to go and watch Barnet play. [As a foot-note here, I will admit to having been present at Barnet's first ever home football league match: an astonishingly naive 4 - 7 home defeat to Crewe Alexandra, played on Sat. 17th August, 1991 (is it really nearly 25 years ago, already?) at Underhill, of course, in what was then The Football League's Fourth Division. That was back in teh Barry Fry days. By virtue of some magic numbers and sleight of hand, that’s the very same tier in which they were to play Oxford today]

Jez, standing proudly with his ticket ... at the wrong entrance.

It was just a couple of day's after St. Pat's, so a celebratory Guinness may have been downed at our meeting point, to accompany a slap-up Wetherspoon's lunch. Which may also help to account for the fact that we then made a bee-line (see what I did, there?) for the home fans' entrance to the West Stand. No biggy! We simply spent about the next 10 minutes yomping around the entire perimeter of the ground to end up just c. 100 yards away from where we had started off. Some clear and appropriate signage might have helped all concerned.

Jez, now pitch-side ... having found the RIGHT entrance, just in time.

Barnet started the day in comfortable, mid-table obscurity. A reasonable position for a team newly returned from exile in "non-league" football. Although their fellow promot-ees from last season, play-off winners Bristol City, by contrast lay in 4th, with play-off hopes - and maybe more. Oxford United, meanwhile, were in second place, with high hopes of an automatic promotion place. They had sold out their away end (The North Terrace) and most of their additional ticket allocation, in The West Stand, too - which afforded good views of the ground and the game.

The West Stand. Away fans far outnumbered Barnet's swarm.

A closely-matched first half ended 0-0. Perhaps the incident most worthy of note was the sixty seconds of applause, impeccably observed by visiting and home support alike, after 19 minutes of play, for the 19 year-old Barnet season ticket holder, Chris East. He had recently "died of a suspected heart attack on the way to watch his beloved team ... on a bus, just yards from Barnet FC’s Hive stadium" (source: The Evening Standard). Such matters put fourth tier football - ALL football, in fact - firmly into its proper perspective.

A look at the background of the photo below reveals the Oxford team bus, parked behind the away end. It is rumoured to have formerly been the Bolton Wanderers’ team bus; but due to, errrm … some well-publicised “financial issues” ooop North, it is now owned and operated by a well-known local firm, called Tappins. Which also, coincidentally, seemed to be a good tactical suggestion to the Oxford players. Early in the second half, that's exactly what they did, to get the scoring started: Callum O'Dowda tapping in coolly, from inside Barnet's 6-yard box.

Oxford fans in the 'away' end (pictured) were to be tormented by a demented, over-sized honey-bee. "You're - Not - Sting - Ing - Any - More!"

After which, much of the second-half action was "one-way traffic", with Oxford doing most of the driving. Barnet worked hard but lacked the necessary edge up front, in particular. Whilst, just after the hour mark, O'Dowda ran in from the half-way line to score a second. One of the more creative forces on display was United's much-admired Kemar Roofe; but he was not to end up on the score-sheet this afternoon, that honour going solely to Callum O'Dowda (x2) and late sub. Danny Hylton. The latter’s 85th minute goal made it 0-3; and prompted a mass exodus of home fans. United's witty and sophisticated support spontaneously combusted into a chorus of La donna è mobile: "Is this a fi - yer - drill? Is this a fi - yer - drill?" It was not; but much of the home swarm did fly away home. In fact, there was a mass 'walk of shame' across the front of the main stand, due to the strange access layout of the stadium. "Cheeri-o, cheeri-o, cheeri-o ..."

"Exodus ... Movement of Jah People"

It was not a bad game for the neutral observer; and it was a very good game for those raucous, celebrating, partisan away fans, who did stay until the bitter end. A Barnet-supporting friend, Ryan, had planned to join us at the game; but he was poorly. Many of those home fans who HAD made it to the match were probably feeling fairly sick, too, by the end; given a master-class in closing a game out, "at this level". Their away win secured a 6-point advantage for Oxford over 3rd place Bristol Rovers, who themselves had climbed above Plymouth, courtesy of the latter's surprise home defeat to Luton Town and their own 1-4 away win in Wales.

Mixing My Metaphors: the visitors successfully drew the Bees' sting … AND put out their fire.

Whisper it; but Oxford could finally be on the verge of that next step back up the greasy pyramid of English football. We’re all Egyptians here, ain’t we?