It was York City’s biggest game of the season so far – and sadly they put in one of their worst performances.
Table-topping Barnet comfortably beat second-placed York 3-1 as Dean Brennan’s side moved seven points clear at the top of the National League.
Adebola Oluwo opened the scoring for the Bees in the 16th minute, with Lee Ndlovu putting the hosts further ahead in the 51st minute.
Barnet captain Anthony Hartigan added another six minutes later from a free-kick, with Malachi Fagan-Walcott scoring a consolation goal for York in added time.
City manager Adam Hinshelwood described his team’s performance as “so, so poor”.
He told the club website: “All over the pitch, we were miles away for whatever reason tonight. Whether the occasion was was too much for some of us not used to playing in these kind of games and intensity, I don’t know.”
Fans were understandably disappointed by the City display, with one posting that Barnet “outclassed us in every department”.
But many pointed out how far the team has come, still second in the table after just escaping relegation last season.
One said: “Barnet played really well tonight and we played really badly. They’re not super human and they’ll drop more points before the end of the season.
“I thought we were better than them at York.
“I reckon we should all have a look at the league table and have a think about how many games there are left to play.”
City are at home to FC Halifax in their next game on Saturday (22 February), kick-off 3pm.