FA Cup Third Round

Sheffield United 0 BARNET 1

Shaq Coulhirst’s 19th minute penalty was enough to put the Bees into the fourth round for only the third time in front of 966 ecstatic travelling fans at Bramall Lane. Barnet closed the 83 place gap between the two teams with a performance that even drew praise from Blades boss Chris Wilder who said afterwards ” we weren’t the second best team out there they made us look fifth best.”

The home side who showed ten changes from their last outing rarely threatened as the Bees one touch football caught the eye. Shaq Coulthirst had the ball in the net early on but his header was ruled out for offside. Barnet though were not to be denied Coulthirst turning provider after 19 minutes finding Ephron Mason-Clark in the area Blades defender Richard Stearman pulling the teenager down in the box giving referee Tony Harrington no choice but to point to the spot. Goalkeeper Simon Moore guessed right but couldn’t stop Coulthirst’s calm finish to put the Bees deservedly ahead.

The home fans became increasingly impatient as United failed to threaten Mark Cousins goal. In fact it was Barnet who spurned the perfect opportunity to go further in front when Dan Sweeney got the ball caught under his feet from Medy Elito’s corner when any touch would have taken the ball into the net. Sheffield United sent in top scorer Billy Sharp after 65 minutes but he failed to ignite the home attack. With time running out the Blades looked to have conjured up an unlikely equaliser but Cousins produced a super save pushing Leon Clarke’s header onto the crossbar. Afterwards temporary boss Darren Currie reiterated his desire to take the job on full time and after one of the best performances in the clubs history Bees fans will all agree he definitely deserves the chance.

Bees: Cousins, Alexander, Johnson, Reynolds, Robson, Adams, Coulthirst (Harrison), J.Taylor, Elito (Tutonda), Sweeney, Mason-Clark (Fonguck)

HRB Man of the Match: The whole team.