TWO GOALS FROM PAUL BRAYSON, a player who had been deemed surplus to requirements until a midweek recall from a two-month loan at Gateshead, were enough to temporarily put on hold Barnet’s celebrations on Saturday and at the same time give the Cheshire club renewed hope of avoiding relegation.

The Barnet supporters that made up the majority of the 1,552 inside Wincham Park had travelled up to Northwich, together with inflatable champagne bottles, flags and novelty wigs, hoping to witness Barnet’s return to the Football League after a four-year absence. On the back of a run of five successive victories that had seen the Hertfordshire club regain the swagger that had opened up such a commanding lead at the head of the Nationwide Conference, and facing a side that had lost each of its past five outings, the three points required to clinch the championship appeared a formality.

But on a bumpy surface Barnet struggled to impose any pattern or tempo on proceedings. And, with the team misfiring as an attacking unit, two errors from the rearguard proved decisive. Five minutes into the second half Brayson rose unchallenged six yards from goal to power a free kick from Danny Mayman past Scott Tynan. Twenty minutes from time Brayson halted Barnet’s brief rally, firing home from 12 yards after Jonny Allan had intercepted a woeful back pass from Ismail Yakubu.

As Paul Fairclough, the Barnet manager, surveyed the vestiges of an aborted celebration, he displayed the philosophical attitude of a man who has seen it all before. “It was a very interesting occasion,” he said. “The opportunity was set up for us to win the game and win the championship today. In the end it was about two teams having to apply themselves on what is arguably the worst pitch I have seen since I’ve been at the club. I don’t believe that the occasion got to us, it was about application today, and Northwich applied themselves better.”

He also offered an insight into the spirit that has served Barnet so well. “There is nothing that we can do about that performance now, we can’t play the game again,” he said. “But we can do a damn lot about next Saturday so we are already in preparation mode. There have been no discussions in the changing-room, we don’t do that, we’ll wait until Monday when emotions have calmed down, because above all we are a team and we will talk about it as a team.”

So Barnet return to Underhill to face high-flying Halifax Town on Saturday in search of the decisive three points that will prevent Carlisle United, their only remaining challengers, from catching them — although if the Cumbria side lose away to Hereford United tomorrow evening then the title will belong to Barnet.

Northwich Victoria (4-4-2): K Rodgers — K Munroe, P Handyside, K Charnock, J McCarthy — M Carr, M Devlin, S Garvey, D Mayman — J Allan, P Brayson. Substitutes not used: B Connett, F Tierney, P Band, M Quayle, M Bailey. Booked: Carr, Garvey. NEXT: Forest Green Rovers (h). FORM: WLLLLL

Barnet (4-4-2): S Tynan — I Hendon, S King, I Yakubu, S Clist (sub: L Roache, 70min) — B Strevens, N Bailey, D Sinclair, R Graham (sub: D Batt, 84) — G Grazioli, L Hatch (sub: D Lee, 70). Substitutes not used: S Gore, A Charles. Booked: Sinclair. NEXT: Halifax Town (h). FORM: LWWWWW

Referee: N Swarbrick

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