Halifax 2 Barnet 4

Nationwide Conference

The odds appeared stacked against Barnet as they prepared to face Halifax on Saturday.

The Shay Men had won their last eight matches (six Conference successes and two in the FA Trophy) in rising to third place.

By contrast, Barnet had won only once in their last nine matches, and crashed 5-1 away to Dagenham last time out.

But Peter Shreeves' men produced a magnificent team performance for an emphatic victory.

Junior Agogo provided his own perfect antidote to any disappointment he felt after being forced to miss out on his England semi-pro debut on Tuesday because of a boycott of the match by Conference teams.

His team-mate Wayne Purser suffered the same fate.

Halifax simply had no answer to the blistering pace and awesome power of Barnet's top scorer, who netted twice to boost his season's tally to 18 goals.

He also put himself two clear of nearest challenger, Chester's Daryl Clare, in the chase for the Conference's Golden Boot award.

Agogo was unlucky not to complete an excellent afternoon's work with a hat-trick when his last-minute shot hit a post and rebounded to safety.

Shreeves said: "Agogo was excellent today and the team responded magnificently from the poor result last week."

There were also significant contributions from Danny Brown and Greg Heald.

Brown put Barnet ahead with a 40th-minute goal, after Halifax keeper Lee Butler made a great save from Agogo's powerful shot.

Brown added two assists in the second half in one of the best performances of his injury-plagued career.

Heald was ready with a well-timed challenge whenever danger threatened. He also scored during a blistering spell for the Bees at the start of the second half.

Agogo (47min) stretched Barnet's lead with a deft glancing header from Brown's cross.

Then Heald (51mins) powered home a header from Gower's cross for Barnet's third goal.

The Brown-Agogo double act produced the fourth goal on 53 minutes when Agogo met Brown's cross with a tremendous rising shot from outside the box that that hit the post and bar before an assistant referee signalled a goal.

Trailing 4-0, Halifax showed great character to fight back.

Lewis Killeen scored in the 70th minute, but Craig Midgley then missed a great chance to narrow the gap further with a penalty that hit the woodwork.

Killeen got a second goal in the dying minutes.

But the day belonged to impressive Barnet in their best display so far this season.

BARNET (3-5-2): Naisbitt; Yakubu, Heald, Soloman; Midgley, Doolan, Gower, Brown (Toms, 67), Flynn; Agogo, Purser.

Man of the match: Agogo. Att: 2,117.