It is tempting fate in the extreme to oppose a side at the weekend that you have backed in midweek, especially when they have let you down big time, this is when sod's or murphy's law comes into play and that same team bounces back to bite you on the ............
However, I am talking myself round this by saying that I did not really back Barnet at Stanley on Tuesday, just that they would at least get on the scoresheet and show a bit more fight. To be honest, their performance left me undewhelmed and I have to oppose them today.
It is unlikely that they will be backed by more than 100-150 supporters, less than 80 made the long trip to Accrington in midweek, whilst over 100 Grimsby fans went to that game to help support Stanley. That gives a clear indication of how much they have bought into the "great escape" and that is what this would be if Town were to survive, a month ago they trailed the fake Bees by 12 points, that lead will be down to just a single point should the Mariners claim all three points today.
Tickets have been snapped up in double quick time, the match was sold out for home fans days ago and the club have been looking at ways to shoe horn a few more in. The atmosphere will be intimidating and white hot and if Barnet underperformed in midweek, it will be difficult to see them doing much better here, with the home fans baying for their blood.
There has been a big change in backroom staff at Barnet this week, see my Thursday post for more about that, but little time for the new regime to do anything more than try and instill some self belief and once your confidence goes, that is a very difficult thing to redress in such a short period. So much sport is played between the ears, most sportsmen know what to do and how to do it, but once that tiny voice at the back of your brain is not so sure, you are really up against it.
I feel Town will have the mental edge today, the crowd behind them and arrive on the back of three wins in five starts, as they were without a single win in 24 outings up to the end of February, that is a massive turnaround. Since March, they have averaged over 1.5 points per game and scored eight goals here against highflying Bournemouth, Chesterfield and Shrewsbury, collecting eight points in those games. It is clear that they are performing at a much higher level now and they must be wondering how they got themselves into such a mess in the first place. Home win for me.
Grimsby -1/2 ball 2.0 + trading at bigger in asia as I type.
Good Luck.
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