There?s Only One Team In North London

No they can?t be found in the Premiership. Actually it?s very difficult to find them at all in their far flung home at the end of the Northern Line. Nevertheless I?m a determined individual and it was going to take more than engineering works to stop me from seeing the side who are now technically my local club, living as I do in the London Borough of Barnet.

It was my first visit to Underhill and as I descended down the slope which gives the ground its name I caught a glimpse of the stadium between the houses. Corrugated iron and concrete constructing a predominantly terraced ground, I would have been rubbing my hands in anticipation if they weren?t so deeply buried in my pockets safely sheltered from the cold. I was not here to see a gleaming new 60,000 seater stadium with state of the art facilities and a finely cultivated pitch that was for certain. I was here to watch a game of football, played on a surface which could boast more bumps and curves than Jennifer Lopez and watched by fans standing just yards from the pitchside.

Going back a few years, it was a battle in 1471 which put Barnet on the map of British history, played out in the War of the Roses between Yorkists and the Lancastrians. There was perhaps a hint of irony then that today?s opponents would hail from Lancashire; Rochdale and reading Paul Fairclough?s programme notes you could be forgiven for wondering if a re-match wasn?t about to take place a good five centuries on. Rhetoric along the lines of ??war is won by winning more battles than the opposition?? promised a scrappy League Two affair but as I tucked into a hot dog from a little stall in the corner of the terrace and found a cosy spot in which to stand I was pleasantly surprised to see two teams getting the ball down and passing it.

The game was an important one for both clubs who find themselves at the wrong end of the table at this stage of the season. The home side languished in 20th, one place and one point above Rochdale however Barnet had found a good turn in recent form with three wins from the last 4 games, three of them played away from home. It was at Underhill though where the goals fly in both for and against The Bees, twenty nine in eight games makes this the third most likely ground to see a League Two strike.

The prime scorer in recent times is Barnet?s most prolific striker Giuliano Grazioli, sadly missing today through injury. His replacement, Tresor Kandol had recently had a stint in jail due to driving offences. He repaid the faith shown in him by the club during that rocky period, latching onto a Nicky Bailey through ball and firing home from 15 yards just before half time to cancel out that scored by Darrell Clarke for Rochdale in the twenty second minute. The teams were tied at 1-1 going into the break.

Warming my hands up on a leaky cup of coffee during the interval I considered those who had previously graced that famously sloped pitch, players such as Dougie Freedman, Maik Taylor, Jimmy Greaves, Linvoy Primus and Marlon King. From the current squad listings, names such as Andy Hessenthaler and Paul Warhurst jumped out. Illustrious managers too including Barry Fry, Ray Clemence, Tony Cottee and most recently Martin Allen once prowled the dug-out.

This is a club not without its history. It is also club a with a reputation for fast, attacking football built up in their first season in the Football League back in 1991 following their first two games ? a 4-7 defeat to Crewe Alexandra and a 5-5 draw with Brentford in the League Cup. Financial controversies lead to their eventual relegation back into the non-league ten years later in 2001 however they bounced back in style after being crowned Champions of the Nationwide Conference in 2005.

Back to the present and the second season on their return was about to get a little better as Kandol added a second for himself and his team just three minutes after the restart, connecting with a Lee Harrison goal kick and steering his header over the onrushing Matthew Gilks into an empty net.

Rochdale showed some of that northern grit though and pulled back to equal terms, Glenn Murray finding the ball a home with his head in the right corner of the net from a suspiciously off-side position.

As darkness set in and the game drew to a close both teams became increasingly desperate to find that illusive winner. A point was essentially worthless given their current plight in the table and as the Dale piled forwards, Barnet threatened on the counter attack yet both teams continued to cancel each other out. The fireworks did come, but literally, from the back yard of a nearby house, each explosion cheered by an increasingly nail bitten crowd during a lull in the on pitch action.

The tension showed as the assistant referee, failing to flag at least two off-sides, came under a bombardment of abuse from one impressively mulletted fellow. The fireworks did however finally explode on the pitch during injury time, Kandol superbly rounded off his afternoon by completing his hat-trick much to the obvious relief of the home supporters.

So the game ended with five goals and nine balls, eight of which were kicked out of the ground by Rochdale?s hoofed clearances straight out of a John Smiths TV advert. A great afternoons entertainment yet at ?15 for the privilege of standing to watch a forth division game you may consider it a bit pricey. However, with the increasing requirement for taking out a mortgage to fund a football addiction at the other two sides in North London what are the chances of me taking Barnet as my new ?second? team. Well, with any more games like that one I?d say they were very good chances indeed.