Barnet 4-1 Kidderminster Harriers: Collinge, Kabamba, Freeman and Kanu on target for Bees in playoff warmup
Barnet FC's Danny Collinge, Nicke Kabamba and Jerome Okimo celebrate during their 4-1 win against Kidderminster Harriers in the Vanarama National League. (Photo Credit: @BarnetFC / Kieran Falcon)

Dean Brennan's Barnet side rounded off an enthralling season with an emphatic 4-1 victory, securing second place and into the Vanarama National League Playoff Semi-Final next Saturday.

Danny Collinge opened the scoring, getting his head on the end of Dale Gorman's corner kick. Nicke Kabamba doubled the advantage ten minutes later, latching onto the end of Ben Coker's cross. 

Luke Freeman scored his first goal for the Bees three minutes after the half-time break while Idris Kanu capped off the game, and ultimately the season, with an outstanding individual goal deep into injury time. 

Charlie Weston did pull a goal back for the visitors with the score at 3-0, but they were unable to capitalise on the slight momentum that they received from the Blackburn Rovers loanee's neat finish. 

With Phil Brown's Kiddy side already relegated, they will look to rebuild next season and hope to obtain an immediate promotion back to the National League. 

As for the Bees, they are now two games from promotion back to the Football League. Tuesday night will determine their opposition after Solihull Moors and Gateshead confirmed fourth and fifth-place finishes respectively. 

Story of the game

Dean Brennan made two changes to the side that beat Halifax Town on the road last weekend. Oxford United loanee Gaitlin O'Donkor dropped to the bench and Callum Stead did not feature with a dead leg, so Freeman and Kanu slotted into the attacking roles. 

In what may be Phil Brown's final game in charge during his brief stint with the Harriers, he opted for four alterations. In came Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, Noah Rubio, Zak Brown and Seb Thompson, while Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Krystian Pearce, Jack Lambert and Regan Griffiths made way.

Former Wrexham goalkeeper Christian Dibble was forced into a diving stop to deny Kabamba from drawing first blood from close range.

The visitors responded by finding areas to exploit on both flanks, with Oxlade-Chamberlain finding Thompson in plenty of space, but he could only fire over the bar. 

However, Kiddy's good work was undone by a routine set-piece from the Bees. Dale Gorman's corner was met by Danny Collinge, who headed confidently into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season. 

Barnet FC's Danny Collinge celebrates his goal during their 4-1 win against Kidderminster Harriers in the Vanarama National League. (Photo Credit: @BarnetFC / Kieran Falcon)
Barnet FC's Danny Collinge celebrates his goal during their 4-1 win against Kidderminster Harriers in the Vanarama National League. (Photo Credit: @BarnetFC / Kieran Falcon)

Barnet might have had two goals in the space of two minutes, but centre-back Jerome Okimo's effort was narrowly wide of the bottom right corner. 

Nicke Kabamba did double the deficit one minute from the interval. The 31-year-old took the ball down brilliantly from Coker's cross and slotted past Dibble, making it 25 goals this season. 

Barnet FC's Nicke Kabamba celebrates his goal with Jordan Cropper during their 4-1 win against Kidderminster Harriers in the Vanarama National League. (Photo Credit: @BarnetFC / Kieran Falcon)
Barnet FC's Nicke Kabamba celebrates his goal with Jordan Cropper during their 4-1 win against Kidderminster Harriers in the Vanarama National League. (Photo Credit: @BarnetFC / Kieran Falcon)

The hosts started the second half as they ended the first, with Luke Freeman adding to the scoresheet. The former Luton Town midfielder combined well with Jordan Cropper on the right wing, and then found himself in the right place to poach on a loose ball in the area. 

Kiddy did manage to find an opening, with Ashley Hemmings growing an influence in the midfield. The 33-year-old found Oxlade-Chamberlain, delivering an inviting cross into the path of Charlie Weston with a superb side-foot finish. 

However, with Barnet comfortably winning at that point, Brennan opted to rest some key players, bringing off Kabamba and Okimo. Adebola Oluwo returned to action for the Bees, having sustained an MCL injury in February against AFC Fylde. 

Barnet FC's Adebola Oluwo in action during their 4-1 win against Kidderminster Harriers in the Vanarama National League. (Photo Credit: @BarnetFC / Kieran Falcon)
Barnet FC's Adebola Oluwo in action during their 4-1 win against Kidderminster Harriers in the Vanarama National League. (Photo Credit: @BarnetFC / Kieran Falcon)

Oxlade-Chamberlain arguably should have changed the narrative of the game with a golden opportunity to bring the gap back to one goal, but he couldn't convert from a tight angle.

The visitors then, unusually, made a goalkeeping substitution in the 73rd minute. Dibble was replaced by Josh Bishop - an academy graduate making his debut for the club. 

Two successive harsh fouls from Oxlade-Chamberlain may have seen red in another game, and Dean Brennan was quick to air his frustrations to the referee, but Richard Eley elected to not send off the 26-year-old. 

With the hosts more relaxed and cautious, the last ten minutes saw a much slower tempo. Amari Morgan-Smith clipped the post for the visitors, but it was Idris Kanu who ended the game with a signature mazy run and a delightful finish into the bottom right corner. 

The Bees will be hoping to carry this positive vein of form into the semi-final next weekend, with the opportunity of League Two football next season not far away.