Nugent’s wait for first win continues
BARNET manager Kevin Nugent was optimistic about the team’s fortunes, despite seeing his winless streak continue as Jamal Campbell-Ryce’s stunning lob sealed a point late on against Crawley.
Rhys Murphy put Crawley ahead with a simple tap in, before the Bees drew level through Simeon Akinola’s sublime overhead kick.
Enzio Boldewijn regained the lead for the away side with an angled effort but Campbell-Ryce stunned fans with two minutes remaining.
“Obviously we want to win every game but I can’t worry about that,” said Nugent.
“All I can do is make sure we work harder.
“There’s work to be done and it is something we’ll have to continue to work with. Once we get that win and the belief comes in again, hopefully we’ll get on a run.”
Crawley had the better chances in the opening stages and went ahead after a ball was zipped in from Boldewijn on the right and fell to former Arsenal youngster Murphy, who had the simple task of converting.
A counter attack saw Barnet reply as Campbell-Ryce cut in from the left and drifted an inch-perfect cross for Akinola with his back to goal. The forward leapt up and powered the cross into the bottom right corner with a fantastic overhead kick.
Crawley went ahead again just ten minutes after the interval. Boldewijn was key as he forced his way into the area from the right, outmuscling Elliot Johnson, and fired in from an angle.
With Barnet looking dead and buried, Campbell Ryce came up with a remarkable effort – clipping an audacious chip over the head of Glen Morris from the left wing. Nugent couldn’t hide his delight for the player.
“I’m really pleased for (Campbell-Ryce) because he works really hard. To get a goal like that, it’s great for him. He’s confident enough to get on the ball and can make the difference.” Crawley manager Dermot Drummy was disappointed by the late strike and feels it could end the club’s faint hopes of a promotion push.
Drummy said: “I think we needed three points to keep our glimmering hopes of anything alive personally, then you are thinking, ‘we are in the driving seat here it will be a good win’, but that’s football.
“It was a tough game and they had a lot of play in the second half. We didn’t keep the press up that we had in the first 45 minutes.”