U21s report: Barnet 5-1 Arsenal

Our under-21s fell to a 5-1 defeat to League Two side Barnet at the Hive in the opening game of our EFL Trophy group.

Bright Siaw opened the scoring for the Bees with a well-placed strike off the far post, before Jack Maskell converted the second from close range.

We hit back through Archie Steven's deflected cross, only for Tom Knowles to add a third for the hosts before the break.

Knowles then netted another two in the second half to complete a well-taken hat-trick and give the Bees all three points.

FIRST HALF

The hosts made a bright start to the tie and took the lead after just nine minutes when Siaw guided a precise effort in off the far post from the corner of the penalty area.

It was 2-0 six minutes later when Maskell brought down a long forward pass and battled past two defenders before firing past Khari Ranson from close range.

We responded well to the Bees' second goal and almost got one back ourselves when Ceadach O'Neill's cross was deflected on target, but Taye Ashby-Hammond reacted well to deny the winger.

From the following corner, Teshaun Murisa, who started after impressing in our under-18s opening game on Saturday, did well to get his head on Marcel Washington's delivery, but saw his effort cleared off the line, sparking a scramble which ended with the ball in the side netting.

We kept the momentum up and struck back ten minutes before the break, with Stevens' powerful cross deflecting into the Barnet net off Knowles.

But in the dying seconds of the half, the Barnet winger made up for his error by latching onto a low cross and lashing in a third for the home side, restoring their two-goal advantage.

SECOND HALF

We made a bright start to the second half, keeping possession for the majority of the opening ten minutes of the half. Evan Mooney had the only clearcut chance of the spell, seeing a well-taken effort deflected just wide.

But moments later, a miscue at the back presented the ball to Knowles and the winger made no mistake in converting his second of the night.

Despite conceding the goal, we kept putting pressure on the hosts and almost got a goal back when Andre Harriman-Annous lobbed Ashby-Hammond, with his ambitious effort landing just the wrong side of the post.

The Bees once again proved clinical on the counter-attack though, with Knowles completing his hat-trick by darting into the penalty area and driving a fine finish across goal into the far corner.

We put up a fight in the closing stages, with Harriman-Annous hitting the post from the edge of the box, but Barnet held out to secure the three points.

WHAT IT MEANS

Defeat at the Hive leaves us bottom of our EFL Trophy group, with Barnet top on three points.

Leyton Orient sit second after scoring a stoppage-time equaliser against AFC Wimbledon, before winning the following penalty shootout to take the bonus second point.

WHAT'S NEXT

Our next EFL Trophy tie takes us to Leyton Orient on Tuesday, September 15 (7pm UK).

Meanwhile, our attention turns to the new Premier League 2 season, which starts at Meadow Park against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon (1pm UK).

Line-ups

Barnet XI: Ashby-Hammond, Williams, Knowles (Matyar, 86'), Maskell, Wright, Comley (Gallagher, 46'), Kenlock, Siaw, Farquhar, Liwala (Senior, 90+1'), Matejko

Subs: Cox, Ofoborh, Kanu, Tshimanga

Arsenal XI: Ranson, Julienne, Murisa (Upson, 71'), Ogunnaike, Washington (Abubakar, 82'), Ibrahim, Stevens, Agustien (Hashi, 71'), O'Neill (Sampang, 86'), Mooney (Nwaneri, 71'), Harriman-Annous

Subs: Porter, Owusu-Gyasi