Barnet 3-1 Salford: Brennan's Frustration Despite Dominant Win

Barnet launched their League Two season with a statement scoreline and a frustrated manager.

Dean Brennan watched his side dismantle Salford 3-1 at The Hive, saw his forwards slice through a fancied promotion contender, then walked away irritated. Not by the performance. By the blemish.

His team were three goals up and cruising. They still left without a clean sheet.

Barnet were on it from the start. Sharp, aggressive, direct when it mattered. After 24 minutes, the breakthrough came as Oisin Gallagher struck to set the tone for a dominant afternoon. Salford never really settled; Barnet simply didn’t let them.

The pressure built and, just before the interval, Charlie Lakin doubled the lead to give the hosts a cushion their first-half display fully deserved. Brennan’s side were winning tackles, snapping into second balls, and playing with the authority of a team that expects to be at the right end of the table.

Salford, chasing promotion this season, looked rattled. They were second best in the duels, too loose in possession, and repeatedly undone by Barnet’s direct play.

The pattern barely changed after the break. Barnet hunted a third and, late on, they got it. Kabongo Tshimanga added the goal their dominance had been pointing towards, capping what looked like the perfect opening-day performance for the home side.

Then came the irritation.

With the game all but over, Salford captain Adebola Oluwo pulled one back in the 90th minute. The goal meant little to the result, but plenty to Brennan.

"It's a good start but I'm annoyed not to keep a clean sheet," he said, making his standards clear. "When it comes to the real detail, we should have won the game by four clear goals. We got three up and put in a huge performance.

"My team went mad last year for conceding silly goals and we dropped so many points in leading positions."

Salford even hit the post late on, a warning Brennan did not ignore.

"I said to the players in the huddle, if players are coming off the bench, I need to trust them. They need to be reliable."

One area that did please him was his new goalkeeper. Matthew Cox, brought in this summer, impressed on his league debut for the club.

"He's a really good goalkeeper and his kicking is outstanding," Brennan said. "He's embedded into the squad really well and he's the keeper I wanted this summer."

Brennan still wants more. The performance showed power and purpose, but he knows the squad is not complete.

"We've still got a bit of business left to do," he admitted. "We need attacking players so I can make attacking substitutions. We haven't had enough of that and it's an area we have to address."

On the opposite touchline, Peter Cklamovski cut a very different figure. Salford’s manager did not sugar-coat what he had seen.

"There is a lot of hurt and disappointment within the four walls of the changing room," he said. "It's a bad performance and that sort of performance gets you these results.

"Credit to Barnet, they turned the game into their style and we didn't handle those elements, both direct balls and second balls."

Salford did rally after the break, throwing bodies forward and forcing Barnet to defend deeper in the closing stages.

"We climbed a huge mountain in the second half and pushed hard," Cklamovski said. "We need to use it as fuel for next weekend and be more effective in the first half.

"We earn the right to perform better and play our football and turn words like ambition into reality.

"That wasn't a reflection of who we are and that's the heartache of it because that's not who we envisage ourselves to be."

Barnet walk away with three goals, three points and the sense they can go toe-to-toe with the division’s hopefuls. Brennan walks away knowing that, if his side can marry this kind of attacking edge with the defensive ruthlessness he demands, this opening-day irritation might just be the making of them.