Barnet 3 Darlington 1

Quakers’ leaky defence leaves Staunton fuming AN ANGRY Steve Staunton made his feelings clear after seeing Darlington dumped out of the FA Cup at Barnet on Saturday.

Quakers were second best for the majority of a cup tie in which their performance was disappointingly inferior to their showing at Underhill a fortnight ago.

The league meeting with Barnet saw Darlington create a host of chances in an undeserved 3-0 defeat.

But on Saturday their leaky defence meant they were 3-0 down after 66 minutes, by which point the home keeper had had little other than the occasional firework in the north London sky to keep him occupied.

Following the introduction of subs Mor Diop and Josh Gray, Darlington showed some fight during the closing stages, with Diop scoring his first goal for the club in a rousing finish.

But it was not enough to appease Staunton. “It wasn’t good enough, it’s no good starting to play when you’re 3-0 down,” he declared.

“It was the same old story, poor goals given away. The substitutions had a positive impact but in no way was it good enough in the first half.

“I can’t make decisions for them, I can’t pass the ball. The players can do it in training but not on a Saturday, so that tells me something and it can’t go on.

“Players are not listening and taking on board what we’re trying to tell them, so we’ll have to do something about that. We’re always looking for new players.

“Things have to change, they can’t continue the way they are.”

Having lost to the same opposition recently, Staunton tinkered with the formation and line-up, which saw Gary Smith return after injury in a packed midfield. But Barnet were handed the opening goal on 18 minutes, John O’Flynn slotting past keeper Nick Liversedge after a one-two with Paul Furlong on the edge of Darlington’s defence.

“I can’t mark players for them,” reflected Staunton.

“Nick called for the ball – I heard him – and if he had caught it there would not have been a goal. But it was bad defending.

“A poor header out of the box from us then a simple onetwo around our defender, who followed the ball and not the man.”

Explaining the switch in formation, Staunton added: “We played a 4-5-1/4-3-3 thinking we’d be a little bit more solid in midfield, keep it tight for as long as possible, but it was a waste of time.

“We didn’t get the benefit from overloading midfield because we didn’t pass the ball properly. I thought we got in some great areas in the first half with simple passes but then we’d put the ball out of play.”

It was Moses Barnett’s poor header which paved the way for Barnet’s opener and it was the left-back’s weak clearance that set up the second goal soon after the restart.

The Bees’ Mark Hughes sent the ball into Quakers’ penalty area, where an unmarked Furlong laid the ball off for Micah Hyde to tap into an empty net. It was Barnett’s worst performance of his loan, which has now expired, and it would be a surprise if Staunton wants him to return.

Staunton sent on Gray and Diop, who made Darlington a threat. James Collins and Simon Thomas both forced Barnet keeper Cole into fine saves but the next goal came from O’Flynn.

Unmarked, he headed Ahmed Deen’s right-wing cross past Liversedge, but Quakers did show some spirit with French striker Diop pulling one back on 73 minutes.

Gray started the move, which led to Diop confidently rolling the ball past Cole after receiving the ball from Collins and Quakers went on to create a flurry of chances. But it was too little, too late.

Staunton added: “It didn’t matter what happened today, the league was always going to be more important.

“We know what we have to do and first and foremost that means keeping clean sheets.

“We’ve been looking at the defence and we know we have to do something with it.”

Losing in the first round ended the possibility of emulating Macclesfield’s exploits of 2006-07, when an FA Cup run instigated their survival bid.

They were bottom of the table without a win when they beat Hartlepool in the second round, after which the Silkmen were handed a third round tie at Chelsea.

The prospect reinvigorated Macclesfield as they went on to win six of their seven matches before the trip to Stamford Bridge.

By the end of the season they had clawed themselves to safety. They won only 12 league games, but half of them came in the month preceding the Chelsea game.

However, Darlington have no such incentive ahead of them as they are left to concentrate entirely on their relegation fight.

Match facts

Goals:

1-0: O’Flynn (18, played a one-two with Furlong before scoring from 12 yards)

2-0: M Hyde (48, tapped into empty net after Furlong knock-down)

3-0: O’Flynn (66, headed across Liversedge into far side of goal after meeting Deen’s cross)

3-1: Diop (73, rifled low into bottom corner having been teed up by Collins)

Bookings: Yakubu (5, foul); G Smith (11, foul)

Referee: Darren Deadman (Peterborough) – Early bookings eliminated any further rash challenges 7

Attendance: 1,654 Entertainment: ✰✰✰

BARNET (4-4-2): Cole 6; Deen 6, Yakubu 7 (Kamdjo 67, 5), Breen 6, Gillet 5; Adomah 7 (Jarrett 72), Hughes 7, M Hyde 7, Bolasie 6 (Deverdics 87); Furlong 7, O’FLYNN 7. Subs (not used): Viner (gk), J Hyde, Hart, Leach

DARLINGTON (4-3-3): 6 Liversedge: Not at fault for the goals and Staunton was pleased with his display

7 Barnes: Selected at rightback as a replacement for the dropped Arnison and did not let anybody down

4 Plummer: Allowed O’Flynn to get away from him for the third Barnet goal

6 Foster: Surrounded at the back by youngsters and he can’t do it all on his own

3 Barnett: Contributed to two of Barnet’s goals and his passing was wayward

5 Convery: Showed a willingness to get on the ball in a role that allowed him to freely switch wings

6 G Smith: Made a decent impact on his return after two games out injured

4 Davis: Repeatedly lost possession in central midfield

5 J Smith: A passenger for much of the game and substituted early in the second half

6 Thomas: Ineffective until Diop entered the fray and was unlucky not to score

7 Collins: Intelligent running and strength made him a threat and he teed up Diop for his goal

Subs

Gray (for Convery 54): Had a hand in the goal with his direct running which caused problems for Barnet 7 DIOP (for J Smith 54): Early signs are that he has the pace and strength that Quakers need 7 Main (for Collins 87) (not used): Jones (gk), Burn, Arnison, Chandler

MAN OF THE MATCH

JOHN O’Flynn – Scored two of his side’s three goals.