Barnet 3-1 Salford: Dean Brennan's Mixed Emotions After Opening Win
Barnet opened their League Two campaign with a statement scoreline and a scowl from their manager.
Dean Brennan watched his side dismantle Salford 3-1 at home, surge into a three-goal lead, dominate for long spells – and still walk off irritated. One moment summed it up: the 90th-minute consolation from Salford captain Adebola Oluwo that wiped out the clean sheet and wiped the smile off his face.
Barnet ruthless, then careless
Barnet were at it early. After 24 minutes, Oisin Gallagher struck to set the tone, punishing Salford and settling any opening-day nerves. From there, the hosts played with a swagger.
Charlie Lakin doubled the advantage before half-time, Barnet cutting through again and leaving Salford chasing shadows. The home side looked sharper, stronger and far more direct in everything they did.
The pressure kept coming after the break. Kabongo Tshimanga eventually added the third late on, a goal that felt like a fair reflection of Barnet’s control. At 3-0, the afternoon should have been perfect.
It wasn’t for Brennan.
"It's a good start but I'm annoyed not to keep a clean sheet," he said, refusing to gloss over the blemish. "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."
The irritation runs deeper than one goal. Last season’s bad habits are still fresh in his mind.
"My team went mad last year for conceding silly goals and we dropped so many points in leading positions," he reminded them. Salford hit the post late on, a warning that only sharpened his message. "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."
Cox impresses as Brennan eyes more firepower
One debut did please him. New goalkeeper Matthew Cox drew praise despite losing his shutout in stoppage time.
"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."
The squad, though, is not finished. Brennan made it clear he expects movement before the transfer window closes.
"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."
Three goals on opening day, and still the manager wants more up top. The standard has been set.
Salford left hurting after flat start
On the opposite touchline, Peter Cklamovski cut a frustrated figure. Salford arrive in League Two with promotion talk around them; this was not the launch they had in mind.
"There is a lot of hurt and disappointment within the four walls of the changing room," the Salford boss said. "It's a bad performance and that sort of performance gets you these results."
He did not hide from the basics either. Barnet dragged the game into a scrap and thrived there.
"Credit to Barnet, they turned the game into their style and we didn't handle those elements, both direct balls and second balls," Cklamovski admitted.
Salford did rally after the break, pushing harder and finally getting their reward when Oluwo pulled one back at the death. By then, the damage was done.
"We climbed a huge mountain in the second half and pushed hard. We need to use it as fuel for next weekend and be more effective in the first half," Cklamovski said. "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 points and a sharp reminder from their manager that standards will not soften. Salford leave with a bruise to their promotion credentials and a week to prove this was a jolt, not a warning of what’s to come.
