Exactly ten years ago today Jarrod Bowen started for Hereford at Barnet.
Signs of recovery despite another loss
The Bulls were
defeated by two first half goals from Keanu Marsh-Brown at Barnet’s Hive
Stadium this afternoon but put in a workmanlike shift to provide hope for the
run-in.
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| Debut For Jarrod Bowen |
Caretaker
Boss Peter Beadle, perhaps predictably, gave a start to one of his Youth Team
squad in the form of Jarrod Bowen while Sam Smith was handed a central strikers
role. With little time to assess his
troops Beadle understandably didn’t tinker much with the team and given more
time it is hoped that the fruits of his labour will be more evident in the
coming weeks.
Rod
McDonald took as nasty bang on the side of the head from a wayward elbow early
on and had to receive lengthy treatment before retuning to the fray. The Bees were the first to show attacking intent
when Weston tested Dan Lloyd-Weston from distance.
Sharpie got
in a low cross that was blocked to safety before Bowen got an early taste of
the action when he was unceremoniously bundled over to win a free kick. Kingsley James swung in a centre that was
headed away for a corner but the resulting flag kick failed to produce a
threat.
Sam Smith
was busy up top before a Collins header drew a save from Jupp in the home
goal. Marsh-Brown saw a shot deflected
wide by Luke Graham. From the corner,
the hosts took a somewhat fortunate lead.
Marsh-Brown curled the flag kick to the back post and it sneaked under
the bar with Lloyd-Weston hampered on the line.
The lead
was doubled on 23 minutes when Marsh-Brown turned inside to curl a shot just
inside the far post.
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| Barnet's Second Goal |
Dom Collins
was harshly carded for his protest when Bowen was shoved off the ball then DLW
was quickly out to gather a cross from overlapping fullback Yiadom. There was a period of scrappy play from both
sides but The Bees were slightly the quicker to react and pick up the loose
balls.
Ten minutes
before the break McDonald went to his knees clearly still suffering from the
early bang on the head and after further treatment had to leave the field to be
replaced by Rob Purdie. Collins moved to
centre-back with Purds dropping in at right back.
After
taking a few minutes to settle to the task, Purdie slipped a ball forward to
Kingsley James and his probing ball forward was met with a snap shot from Smith
which Jupp did well to keep out at the near post.
With the
early setbacks behind them, The Bulls settled to play some spells of decent
football without producing consistent pressure.
Sharpie made a determined break to win a corner but Frankie Artus’ cross
was over hit and drifted out for a throw.
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| Jarrod Bowen Gets The Ball Off Gjokaj |
Bowen broke
into the box to beat two defenders before being dispossessed by Jupp and with a
little more experience might have won a spot kick had his youthful enthusiasm
not prevented him staying on his feet.
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| But Can't Quite Beat Keeper Jupp |
HT Barnet 2
Bulls 0
In a bright
start to the second period Jon Brown was felled and from the Artus’ free kick
Dom Collins header went just wide of the target. Sam Smith was just short with a diving header
and Artus saw a shot blocked followed a good feed from Chris Bush.
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| Free Kick About To BeTaken By Frankie Artus |
Bowen and
Purdie combined well before the latter produced a cross into the box that
failed to find an attacking forward before Walker replaced Smith and Pilkington came on for
Bowen in a double switch with twenty minutes remaining.
Vilhete was
rightly carded for a late challenge on Purdie before Walker’s cross was blocked for a corner and
Jon Brown’s volley was high over the bar.
Pilkington impressed with a couple of useful runs and crosses but the
lack of a seasoned striker, once again, meant that the finishing touch was
lacking.
Despite a determined effort as the game closed, The Bulls were unable to find enough quality in the final third.
FT Barnet 2
Bulls 0
BN MOTM –
Rob Purdie
Hereford: Lloyd-Weston, Collins, Graham, McDonald (Purdie 35),
Bush, Bowen (Pilkington 70), Artus, James, Brown, Sharp, Smith (Walker 70).
Subs not used: Moore,
Edge.
Barnet: Jupp, Yiadom, Johnson (Saville 62), Weston, Harper, Marsh-Brown (Dymond 59), Crawford (Gambin 46), Vilhete, Nurse, Stephens, Gjokaj. Subs not used: Barnes, Peterson.
Attendance 1497 with a
particularly noisy 197 Herefordians.
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| Beadle Discussing The Game With Steve Jenkins And Luke Graham |
There wasn’t a lot between
the two sides apart from in the attacking end and a quickness to the ball in
midfield. Peter Beadle And Steve Jenkins
now have a full week to work with their new charges to prepare for the visit of
Grimsby on Saturday and having recently taken a point from The Mariners on
their own patch the opportunity to build on this performance should give
encouragement to both team and fans alike.
Speaking to BBC Hereford and Worcester after the game, Bulls captain Luke Graham spoke about Jarrod Bowen's debut:
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| 'Positive' Debut For Jarrod Bowen |
"I was delighted with Jarrod today. I think he was positive, I think he had a go.
"Let's be
honest, he was making his debut at 17 at a good venue here. I thought
Jarrod coped well. It is man vs boy when you've got a 17 year old but
the belief that Pete Beadle has instilled in those young lads means that
there's going to be a couple that enthusiasm will get them so far.
"We had a good
chat with Jarrod before (the game) about expressing himself and he did
that. Afterwards I asked how he found it and he said 'physical and a
very, very quick tempo'.
"That is the
thing with Mens football. You need to be organised. It is very fast
paced and it is very physical at times. I think he can go home very
happy today."
Manager Peter Breadle also spoke about Bowen's debut:
"Absolutely
fantastic. I don't think you could have a better debut than that. I
thought he was excellent today. Very rarely gave the ball away, caused a
problem for their left back.
"That's a
starting step for him. That's the standard he's set. Now it's up to him
to carry on in that vein and produce more quality as he goes forward."