Barnet manager's 'special mention' for player who didn't give Chesterfield man a 'sniff'
Barnet manager Dean Brennan singled out one of his players for a ‘special mention’ in their 1-0 win against Chesterfield.
Nnamdi Ofoborh scored the winner for the Bees on 65 minutes to send the Spireites to their first defeat in seven at The Hive on Saturday. Ofoborh thundered a shot into the top corner from inside the box in a game which the Blues started brightly but faded in the second-half. But it was Ofoborh’s work off the ball in nullifying Sammy Braybrooke that caught the eye of Brennan.
“We did a good physical job against a really good side with a lot of technical ability,” Brennan said.
"I thought Nnamdi (Ofoborh) off the ball was amazing, to stop Braybrooke playing first and foremost, and then for them to throw (Tom) Naylor on for Braybrooke and Naylor makes lots of run into the box and Nnamdi tracked him. So he has got to change his game because they are playing more direct, they are playing off (Will) Grigg. He epitomised the whole performance today.
"I just said to the players – giving Nnamdi a special mention – that is the best midfielder’s performance in my reign here. He scores, he stops Braybrooke who is a good player – he never let him have a sniff. He should be so proud of himself. He has got to keep that standard. He led like a winner, like a captain. We have got to keep him there and I know he has the capability of doing that week in week out.”
The clean sheet was Barnet’s 14th of the season which is the most in the division and the win moves them to the cusp of the play-offs.
Brennan said: "Clean sheets help towards any success. I look at the whole team. We tackle from the front. We get on the front-foot. We step forward. Everyone is involved. For us to do that (most clean sheets in League Two) in our first season back in the EFL is an amazing achievement. We have got 11 games left and hopefully we can get 11 more.
"From our point of view, it is our first season back, we are a very stable club. Realistically, we need 75 points to get in the play-offs. I don’t lose belief in what we are doing, i just focus on one game at a time. We keep humble in victory and defeat.”