Dean Brennan proud of Barnet’s performance as they brush aside Grimsby

Barnet manager Dean Brennan was proud of his team’s performance after they secured their first home league win of the season with a 3-0 victory over Grimsby.

Nnamdi Ofoborh opened the scoring against the Carabao Cup giant killers with an unleashed effort that looped into the net before half-time.

Lee Ndlovu doubled the lead in the 65th minute, tapping into an empty net from Idris Kanu’s low cross. Ofoborh then sealed the win with a superb curling strike three minutes later.

Brennan said: “From our point of view, that’s the standard of performance we’ve set at the club. We were lucky last week [against Crewe] in phases, but the harder we work, the luckier we get.

“We saw out the game excellently – I’m so proud of our performance. You’ve got to love Nik Tavares – having him makes us a proper team. It was also the first time I played two up front and it paid off.

“Our defensive display was outstanding. What we did to them tactically is what they’ve done to other teams. They like to push their full-backs high – imagine beating Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday – what a job their manager is doing.

“Nnamdi’s second goal was fantastic, and full credit to the staff who worked on set pieces this week. We focused on how to overload them, and I give my staff huge credit.

“We’ve had key players missing and others without a full pre-season, but once they’re fit, we’ll win more than we lose.”

Grimsby manager David Artell was bitterly disappointed after his side failed to match Barnet’s intensity, falling to their second league defeat of the season.

He said: “We weren’t very energetic and didn’t match their energy – we didn’t run around or fight.

“It was always going to be a tough afternoon, and that’s how it played out. There’s no point talking tactics until you get the core fundamentals right.

Reflecting on Jamie Walker and Charles Vernam’s first-half chances, he added: “Not taking those opportunities significantly shifted the momentum. That’s not reflective of who we are or have been. We got their pressing completely wrong and conceded twice from set pieces.

“They were lucky with their first goal – I’m sure they meant it, whether it was hit into the ground or ended up in the top corner. We know those kinds of goals can happen, but regardless, we should’ve scored in the first half and there’s simply no excuses.”

Despite the defeat, Artell backed his squad’s mentality: “I’ve got no doubt about their character and personality, but we can’t perform like we did at Barnet.

“Don’t ever not run around while I’m still the manager of this football club.”