Match report of this afternoon's home defeat in the clash against Port Vale
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Abu Agogo's moment of madness provided the only highlight on a lifeless final day to the season at Underhill.
The former Arsenal defender took his goalkeepers job into his own hands, sent-off for making a diving save just before half-time.
A lively first 15 minutes soon sank into a quandary of errors and laziness, with both sides' minds clearly abroad. Out of the confusion there were some shining instances though, usually ignited by Vale's Louis Dodds.
The dynamic winger read play well, finding space around the area and was allowed to pick off shots time and time again.
He drove his side into the lead on 10 minutes, drifting inside and launching the ball low to the left, easily beating Ran Kadoch.
Barnet struggled to get hold of the game, with out-of-favour Cliff Akurang and Mark Hughes doing themselves no favours in their fight for a place next season.
But it was Abu Ogogo who grabbed the headlines with a moment of almost comedic stupidity.
Moments before half time, Vale striker Danny Glover thought he'd made it two as he latched on to a James Lawrie flick-on and poked the ball past Kadoch.
Breaking his neck to clear, Ogogo lunged and parried the ball off the line with his hand, denying the goal, and was sulking towards the tunnel before the red card was even shown.
Kadoch managed to save the resulting penalty but Glover set things straight, tapping in his rebound.
In the second-half, both sides were guilty of mistakes and it was the home team that battled hard enough to gain the majority of possession, without ever looking likely to turn the match on its head.
Substitutes Adam Birchall and Max Porter impressed and youngster Danny Hart will have stirred his manager as well, with a soaring volley just before the end.
A corner aimed at Kadoch was cleared out to the 20-year-old who cracked a shot first time into the top-corner on 90 minutes to give the Barnet fans a glimpse of what might be to come next season. |
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