Barnet 4, Chelmsford City 1
(FA Cup, fourth round qualifying replay)
CHELMSFORD will not be hosting Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Cup first round proper after being stung by an early blitz of Barnet goals at The Hive on Tuesday night.
The Clarets were 2-0 down to their Vanarama Conference Premier hosts after just 10 minutes. John Akinde used his strength to muscle his way on to a loose ball and slot home before David Stephens tucked in from close range when a corner fell his way.
Dazzling footwork by Luke Gambin gave him space to set up Barnet skipper Curtis Weston for the third on 29 minutes.
Joe Ward struck one back for the lower league visitors ten minutes into the second half with a clinical low shot.
City had a big shout for a handball in the Barnet box by home substitute Jon Nurse during a decent spell from the visitors, only for Luisma Villa's deflected effort to loop into the City net on 78 minutes to seal the result.
City boss Mark Hawkes stuck with the team that drew 0-0 with the Bees at Melbourne Park on Saturday. Barnet manager Martin Allen made just one change, bringing in Gambin with Sam Hoskins having gone on loan to Yeovil Town.
The Clarets didn't seem to be overawed by the surroundings of The Hive in the early exchanges, but the power of Akinde, which proved troublesome on Saturday proved lethal three days later.
The warning signs were there on three minutes when he wriggled through on goal, but was denied by the quick reflexes of Clarets goalkeeper Tony Thompson.
Then a header back from the City midfield three minutes later gave Mark Haines a problem as Akinde brushed him aside before powering on to slot past Thompson.
On 10 minutes, the lead was doubled as a corner bounced at the feet of Stephens to stab home from close range.
The pressure was all coming from the Vanarama Premier hosts and Bondz N'Gala sent a header from a corner just over the angle of crossbar and right post.
Moments later Barnet right-back Andy Yiadom showed great control to take a ball down and motor into the box before testing Thompson with a low shot that the keeper parried and the ball was cleared to safety.
It didn't stay out of his net for long though as on 29 minutes, Gambin shuffled the ball from one foot to another to jink into the box and pull the ball back for Weston to fire in a fierce shot. Thompson got a hand to it, but could only help it on its way into the top left corner.
Both managers made substitutions on 32 minutes. For the visitors, Haines, who came off injured in the first game, was replaced by Marvin Ekpiteta, and for Barnet Jack Saville was brought on for N'Gala.
Six minutes later, Akinde saw his header from a deep Gambin cross from the left fall on to the roof of the Clarets' net.
City's only chance of the first half came when Christian Smith's in-swinging free-kick from the right was cleared off his goal line by Barnet goalkeeper Graham Stack, with City defender Yado Mambo getting the faintest of touches on the way.
Striker Michael Cheek did not reappear on the pitch for the second half, replaced by Luke Callander.
The Clarets held their own in the half's opening stages as Barnet stepped down a gear and were Hawkes' men were rewarded by Ward's superb strike on 55 minutes.
He stole on to a bouncing ball, drove into the right-hand side of the penalty area and unleashed a low drive just inside the left post of Stack's goal.
That had the Claret Army, boasting 403 away fans, behind the Bees' goal singing 'We're going to win 4-3' and their players weren't about to rest on their solitary goal.
Ekpiteta headed on a corner to the back post, but Smith could not hook the ball in from a very tight angle, finding the gloves of Stack instead.
Barnet's attacks were becoming less frequent and when Ward sliced a shot back across the box from a Callander cross from the left, the ball struck the arm of Nurse, prompting a big penalty claim from the City players and fans, but the referee Colin Lymer was unmoved.
The injustice burned even more brightly when Villa's shot from outside the box deflected up and over Thompson's despairing dive and into the net with 12 minutes to go.
Neither goalkeepers were troubled for the remaining time and now Chelmsford must forget about the FA Cup and turn their minds back to league action with a visit to Basingstoke Town on Saturday.
CHELMSFORD: Thompson, Girdlestone, Redwood, Haines (Ekpiteta 32), Mambo, Sawyer, Ward, Gordon, Cheek (Callander 45), Smith (Kouassi 73). Subs not used: Freund, Morgan, Nicolau, Barham. Att: 1294.
