Barnet beat Salford City 3-1 in the first round of the League Two regular season on Saturday. The hosts opened the scoring through Ollie Gallagher before Craig Lakin doubled their advantage just before half-time. Kévin Tshimanga added a third in the second half as Barnet held on grimly for all three points.
Gallagher fired home at the 24-minute mark after a period of sustained pressure, and by then Lakin had already made his presence felt. A yellow card for O. Turton at 23 minutes suggested Barnet were pushing hard, and the intensity showed when Lakin found the net at 42 minutes. Powell picked up a booking for Salford just before the break, and the visitors looked rattled.
After the interval, Barnet turned up the heat. Tshimanga made his mark at 87 minutes with a goal that put the game beyond doubt, and A. Oluwo completed the scoring at the 90th minute. Salford made changes — Molyneux came off at 81 minutes — but could not respond. The visitors had more possession, 53 per cent, but Barnet saw the game out.
The statistics paint a clear picture. Barnet registered 107 attacks compared to Salford's 59, and their shot accuracy of 35 per cent told a different story from the visitors' 23 per cent. Seven shots on target produced four goals for the hosts, while Salford managed only three attempts on goal. Barnet dominated the air from set plays with six corners to five, but it was the volume of attacks that mattered.
What this means for the table is straightforward. Barnet move into third place with nine points from five games, unbeaten in the process. Salford drop to 15th on six points, their run of defeats now stretching to three matches. The draw brought them together early, but Barnet had the deeper squad and proved it.