Cambridge United suffered their first Sky Bet League Two defeat since early February after Barnet gained a professional 1-0 victory at the Hive…
During a matchup which had very few opportunities, it was the Bees who made theirs count as Danny Collinge volleyed in what proved to be the matchwinner moments into the second half as the U’s unbeaten streak was terminated after they failed to find the spark needed to respond.
A week on from the professional victory over fellow chasers Salford City, Neil Harris named one change to his starting XI as Sullay Kaikai – selected for international duty with Sierra Leone – made way for Adam Mayor, who made his first start of 2026. Elsewhere, captain Michael Morrison returned to the squad to make the bench, joined by recalled goalkeeper Jasper Briggs.
Heading into the meeting in North London, the U’s had moved down to 4th owing to a lunchtime success for Notts County, so were eager to reward the sea of 1,800 visiting fans behind the goal by extending their blistering run of one defeat from 24. As for the hosts, a 1-3 win against MK Dons last time out – their first in four – put them within five points of the play-offs, so there was still plenty at stake.
Windy conditions made for a testing introduction to the afternoon as both sides looked to navigate it by stamping some authority. The Bees dished up some corners and had half opportunities when Romoney Crichlow nodded to Collinge whose strike from outside of the box generated too much height, before Mark Shelton’s direct free-kick from the left missed the target.
This had not been a clash for the purists, with very little action in both boxes and no attempts on target to keep Cieran Slicker and Jake Eastwood consigned to a quiet first half – although it was the latter who was required to stay more alert as many Barnet deliveries were put into the box with little effect.
Whilst they had been faultless defensively, and perhaps the more content of the two with how they had handled the wind in their faces, United needed to find another gear in the final third as the midfield battle had been a congested one throughout a testing first 45.
Determined to breathe life into the meeting straight from the off, a change at the break saw Cambridge switch to a front two as James Brophy made way for Shayne Lavery.
However, the first opportunity of the day on the 49th minute resulted into the breakthrough for Dean Brennan’s side when Shelton’s corner towards the edge of the six-yard box was met by Collinge, who escaped his marker and flicked a smart volley past the near post.
Capitalising on the momentum, Barnet continued to probe from here and forced a mistake when Dom Ball’s lofted backpass couldn’t be cleared by Eastwood, allowing Callum Stead to round the keeper but he couldn’t fire past a recovering defence.
More changes were needed to help the visitors find a foothold on the hour mark as Korey Smith and Elliott Nevitt came on for Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Louis Appere.
Dangerous on the counter, the Bees creeped closer on the 64th minute when Adam Senior jinked into the box and squared to the danger area, where Mamadou Jobe was on hand to turn it behind for a corner.
Five minutes later, Nnamdi Ofoborh picked out a low cross towards the back post where Kabongo Tshimanga managed to lunge to get his boot to it, but ultimately not the accuracy as it sailed over the crossbar. With the clock ticking, frustration was growing for the U’s who had not yet found a way to unlock the dogged hosts.
With 10 minutes remaining, Harris’ men conjured up their best chance of the afternoon when they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box after Slicker handled outside his line. From a wide angle, substitute Glenn McConnell’s right-footed strike was on target and forced a big save from the goalkeeper who pawed it away on the line.
Unable to find the spark required to break down Barnet, a lack of control or sustained pressure meant United succumbed to a disappointing defeat and dropped to 4th in the table with seven matches to play.
Up next, the U’s kickstart the Easter schedule on Thursday evening (2 April) by welcoming Swindon Town to the Cledara Abbey for a televised clash – be sure to back the boys.
Barnet: Slicker, Senior, Collinge, Tavares, Crichlow, Chinedu (Jaiyesimi, 76’), Glover (Hawkins, 86’), Shelton, Ofoborh, Stead, Tshimanga (Kizzi, 86’)
Subs Not Used: Evans, Howland, Hartigan, Siaw
Goalscorers: Collinge (48’)
Bookings:
Cambridge United: Eastwood, Gibbons, Jobe, Watts, Bennett, Ball (McConnell, 74’), Mpanzu (Smith, 60’), Mayor, Knight, Brophy (Lavery, 46’), Appere (Nevitt, 60’)
Subs Not Used: Briggs, Purrington, Morrison
Goalscorers:
Bookings: Knight
Referee: Martin Woods
