United 2
(Lemonheigh-Evans 9′, 27′)
Barnet 2
(Marriott 38′, Mason-Clark 60′)
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There was frustration for United at Plainmoor on Saturday, as Barnet came back to salvage a draw.
There could be few complaints about the way Torquay started, as a double-strike from Connor Lemonheigh-Evans sent his side into a seemingly-comfortable advantage, however after Adam Marriott reduced the arrears in controversial circumstances, Ephron Mason-Clark levelled things up, leaving Gary Johnson’s side to settle for one point, rather than all three.
The Gaffer made one change to the starting line-up that triumphed at Dover last weekend, with Dan Holman replaced by one of The Gulls’ goalscoring heroes in Kent, Stephen Duke-McKenna.
Having broken the deadlock early seven days ago, the men in yellow set about repeating the trick in the fifth minute.
A neatly placed header in the centre circle from Ben Wynter saw Duke-McKenna ride a challenge before storming down the right-hand side. His driven ball across the face of goal initially found Armani Little by the penalty spot, however after going down under a challenge, the loose ball fell to Tom Lapslie, who could only watch on as his effort cleared the crossbar.
Goal celebrations for the Yellow Army weren’t too far away though.
On nine minutes, a Little free-kick from the right looked to have been taken too far by the wind, yet as it landed at the back-post, Joe Lewis showed coolness of mind to recycle the ball, with Lemonheigh-Evans eventually profiting, as he slammed home a right-footed effort from just inside the box.
No more than they deserved during a one-way start in favour of The Gulls.
A rare foray upfield did lead to the visitors’ first shot of the game on 22 minutes, but despite a blocked clearance falling kindly to Kian Flanagan 20 yards from goal, he could only send his volley past Shaun MacDonald’s right hand post.
Perhaps prompted into action by that, a minute later, The Bees’ goalkeeper came to his side’s rescue after a ball into the box was taken down well by Stephen Wearne, who duly fed Lemonheigh-Evans. The Welshman’s shot from twelve yards was hit no less impressively than his first, but on this occasion Aston Oxborough spread himself bravely to smother the shot.
With 27 minutes on the clock, United struck again, as Connor doubled his tally for the afternoon.
Duke-McKenna, who was enjoying the freedom afforded to him during the early stages, made the most of the space, as he delivered a wonderful right-footed across the penalty area, with Lemonheigh-Evans applying the finishing touch to divert the ball into into the net.
Another Duke-McKenna cross – this time from the left – nearly found the same player’s head moments later, as his starring role continued apace.
Then, out of nowhere, Barnet dragged themselves back into the match.
A break upfield saw Dean Moxey suffer a blow to the head in the build-up, however despite calls for play to be brought back, the referee waved play on, rendering the experienced defender unable to intervene as Marriott poked home a right-wing cross from point-blank range.
Frustrated by that perceived injustice, tensions in the home ranks rose even higher in the closing moments of the first half, as a highly-debatable foul on Ben Richards-Everton not only ended a dangerous-looking attack that was in full-flow, but also resulted in a booking for a clearly aggrieved Duke-McKenna.
2-1 to United at the interval then, however you couldn’t help but feel Johnson’s side had been somewhat short-changed as the two teams swapped ends.
Charged with re-establishing their two-goal cushion, Torquay weren’t quite able to enjoy the same amount of possession that had during the opening period, as they were forced to do battle with a strong wind, in addition to a rejuvenated Barnet side, and on the hour-mark, Barnet drew level.
With United unable to clear their lines, a string of passes saw the ball worked from right to left, leaving Mason-Clark to curl the ball into the top corner of the net from the edge of the area and make it 2-2.
It nearly got worse a minute later, as a momentary hesitation in The Gulls’ backline saw Marriott work space for a shot from twelve yards, but thankfully it sailed over.
With the conditions now in their favour, the visiting side were giving as good as they got at this stage, however as the match edged towards its climax, the home side took charge once again in search of a late winner.
Duke-McKenna was still causing plenty of problems in the attacking third however, with one moment of trickery on the left ending in an inviting cross that just lacked the vital touch.
Clear-cut opportunities were at a premium though, although Little’s free-kick from the edge of the box saw a few hearts in mouths amongst the Barnet contingent, before curling just wide.
MacDonald had to produce a marvellous parry to deny Barnet all three points in injury time though, as a swift break upfield saw the visiting side presented with a threatening two-on-one situation.
There was to be one more chance to fall United’s way, yet despite Lemonheigh-Evans’ tremendous work to supply Duke-McKenna with a late opportunity at the back-stick, the QPR loanee looked in despair as his drive cleared the crossbar.
Sadly, on this occasion there was to be now ‘Gary Time’ heroics, as both sides were left to settle for a draw.
On to Boreham Wood on Tuesday.
United: 37. Shaun MacDonald, 2. Ben Wynter, 3. Dan Martin (29. Joe Felix, 82′), 4. Tom Lapslie (9. Danny Wright, 62′), 7. Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, 8. Asa Hall (c), 10. Armani Little, 12. Stephen Wearne (19. Klaidi Lolos, 77′), 15. Stephen Duke-McKenna, 21. Dean Moxey, 31. Joe Lewis.
SUBS NOT USED: 1. Mark Halstead, 5. Ali Omar.
Yellow Card: Duke-McKenna 45+4′
Barnet: 27. Aston Oxborough, 3. Teddy Howe, 6. Ben Richards-Everton, 8. Ross Marshall (10. Daniel Powell, 79′), 11. Ephron Mason-Clark (9. Louis Walsh, 83′), 14. Adam Marriott, 16. Kian Flanagan, 19. Harry Taylor, 28. Sam Woods, 33. Ryan De Havilland, 39. Reece Grego-Cox.
SUBS NOT USED: 7. Rob Hall, 18. Wesley Fonguck, 24. Jake Askew.
Yellow Card: Marshall 13′, De Havilland 45+2′, Grego-Cox 59′, Richards-Everton 73′, Howe 89′, Oxborough 90+2′
Attendance: 2,221 (69 away)