On Tuesday, Aldershot Town travel to The Hive to take on 9th placed Barnet, looking for back-to-back away wins, following Saturday’s excellent 2-1 victory at Stockport County.
The game is a re-arranged one from 3rd September, which was called off due to three Barnet players being called up for international duty and is the only National League match being played on Tuesday. The Bees can go 4th with a win, whilst The Shots can go 14th if they pick up all three points.
Shots Squad:
Town boss Danny Searle rested skipper Dean Rance at the weekend, having played 8 of the teams previous 9 matches so he should be available again for the Barnet match. Full debutants Max Hunt, Jack Powell and Alex Fletcher all made good contributions to the win at Edgeley Park, helping to increase the competition for starting places amongst the squad. Kodi Lyons-Foster is a doubt, after leaving the field in the first half due to injury. Meanwhile Ollie O’Dwyer, Alex Finney, James Rowe and Jacob Berkeley-Agyapong are all recovering from injuries and unlikely to feature at The Hive.
Opposition:
Name: Barnet FC
Founded: 1888
Nickname: The Bees.
Manager: Darren Currie
Stadium: The Hive (Capacity: 6,205)
2018-19 Final National League position: 13th
Brief History:
Formed in 1888 as Chipping Barnet, they have spent the majority of their 130-years in non-league football, winning various honours such as the FA Amateur Cup in 1946, Southern League Cup in 1976 and Conference League Cup in 1989. They were promoted to the Football League for the first time in 1991 but have bobbed up and down three times since. They again won promotion in 2005 and 2015, but, alas, on the final day of last season were relegated despite a 3-0 win over basement side Chesterfield. Famous former players include Dougie Freedman, Linvoy Primus, Yannick Bolasie, Jason Puncheon, Jimmy Greaves, Alan Pardew, Mark Lawrenson and, of course, Edgar Davids.
The Gaffer:
Darren Currie began his coaching career whilst at Boreham Wood, joining in 2011 as player/assistant manager. He then moved to Dagenham & Redbridge in 2012 as development coach whilst still registered as a player. Following John Still’s departure to Luton Town, Currie was promoted to assistant manager at the Daggers. He had a stint as caretaker manager before becoming Still’s assistant following his return to Dagenham in 2015. Currie then moved to former-club Barnet with Still for the start of last season and was promoted to Bees manager when Still temporarily retired in December. Currie’s managerial career has already seen some highs as his Barnet side beat Sheffield Utd in the FA Cup 3rd Round before taking Brentford to a replay in Round 4.
Playing Squad:
Currie has kept a pretty settled squad from last season, retaining more players than any other National League side. Key departures include goalkeeper Mark Cousins (Bromley), utility player Craig Robson (Billericay Town) and striker Dave Tarpey (Woking). Key players remaining at The Hive include Ex-Shots Cheye Alexander and Callum Reynolds, winger Dan Sparkes, midfielders Charlee Adams & Andre Boucaud and forwards Shaquille Coulthurst, Effron Mason-Clark and Simeon Akinola. Currie’s only signings have been goalkeeper Scott Loach from Hartlepool, midfielder James Dunne from Swindon Town, the short-term loan signing of Queens Park Rangers defender Charlie Rowan and most recently, Alfie Pavey from Dover Athletic.
Referee:
Today’s referee is Lloyd Wood. He taken charge of 3 National League matches so far this season, issuing 15 yellow cards and 0 red cards to date. He took the middle in Aldershot Town’s recent 2-1 win at Ebbsfleet United.
Commentary:
BBC Surrey Sport’s Rob Worrall and former Shots midfielder Damon Lathrope will be covering the game live on Tuesday evening. Tune-in to the BBC Sport website or BBC Sport App from 7:35pm for full match commentary. To interact, tweet @RobShot66 and/or @damonlathrope
