Barnet 1 Gillingham 3

Match 17/12/970 - Saturday, 8 September 2012 - League Two

Barnet (1) 1 Saville 22
Gillingham (3) 3 Payne 10, Kedwell 11, Burton 38
Att. 2,835

Entrance: £13 Senior
Programme: £3
Mileage: 159/903

Match Report

Very few visiting supporters will be bidding a fond farewell to Underhill as Barnet depart their home of 105 years and move boroughs to Harrow and a development on their training facility at The Hive in Edgware at the end of this season. In a very interesting Q & A in the matchday programme, chairman Tony Kleanthous spoke candidly of the borough council’s intransigence, a ground that is an embarrassment and his regret that the shifting of the club from the borough of Barnet is of a consequence of Saracens’ relocation in the borough.

The sloping pitch, the narrow terracing which the chairman described as “nothing more than a concrete step with a tin roof” and using another of the Mr Kleanthous’ descriptions “a dilapidated facility” does nothing to appeal to visiting supporters. In truth, whilst home is where the heart is, there has to be more positives than negatives even for the home support in a move away. But there is the affinity to your home town, let’s not forget the uproar that came with the possibility of Gillingham’s move to Gravesham and even to another borough within the Medway Towns, and Barnet’s supporters anxieties lay with the logistics of getting to Edgware and whether the club would forever retain the name of Barnet Football Club.

It does seem that the carrot of a multi-purpose venue and the lure of Premiership rugby at a redeveloped Barnet Copthall Stadium with Saracens were viewed more favourably than Barnet’s proposal for the same site, although this was approved by the Council’s planning committee but overturned by the Secretary of State.

Martin Allen continues to lay the ghosts of previous administrations with a comfortable away win at the bottom club. Despite wins at Underhill since Mark Stimson’s FA Cup defeat in 2007, memories of that gutless performance always rear their head as the turnstiles click in entry. The one thing that Gillingham have always managed to do at Underhill is click those turnstiles and once again more than a thousand packed out the concrete steps, 1,144 to be precise.

Gillingham took complete control of the game with two goals in a minute. Jack Payne opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a shot from outside of the area. The lead was quickly doubled when Charlie Allen stood up a cross to the near post for Danny Kedwell to head home from close range.

The visitors may have been dominant and their supporters enjoying the right to banter with their counterparts that the game was over but after 22 minutes the home side found a way back with a goal far too straightforward in its making. A corner was won, send the big guy up and head it in was the simplistic plan that was successful. Mark Byrne supplied the corner and Jack Saville the header.

In the 38th minute, Gillingham restored their two goal advantage with a headed goal from Deon Burton. A long throw by Charlie Lee was headed on at the near post and Burton back-headed the ball into the bottom corner, seemingly by his reaction, much to his own surprise. Television viewing of the goal later led me to believe that he had actually meant it.

The second half was a bit of a stalemate as both sides struggled in the intense heat, but Gillingham were never seriously in trouble of losing their advantage.

Old boys in the Barnet side were Curtis Weston and Barry Fuller and I found it disappointing that some of the visiting support found it necessary to abuse them, particularly in the case of Fuller.

So, unless a cup draw deems otherwise, we wave goodbye to Underhill leading the League Two table and with fonder memories than we might have had a couple of years ago.