Westley satisfied with young Bees despite result

New Barnet head coach Graham Westley was delighted with his young side's battling display in the 3-1 defeat at Mansfield Town this afternoon.
Danny Rose (right) in action against Barnet.Danny Rose (right) in action against Barnet.
Danny Rose (right) in action against Barnet.

Bottom club Barnet had their moments in a game in which they soaked up a lot of pressure and, 3-0 down, managed to produce a grandstand finish after being gifted a late reply.

“I thought it was a very encouraging day at the office,” said Westley.

Mansfield are an expensively assembled squad. They have quality sitting in the stand and they have quality on the bench.

“They can bring lads like Spencer and Miller off the bench so it was always going to be a tough ask. They have been building since pre-season towards where they are now at the top end of the table.

“If you look at the match stats you'll see a match that was pretty balanced on possession and we had a lot of shots for an away side.

“We played with a purpose and a thrust and decent enough quality. Over 90 minutes a couple of errors have cost us. Those errors are easily cured.

“We have come here and shows great appetite, a good consistency in our willingness to pass the ball and build play, good ownership of the ball in an away ground – there were so many positives and we know we're only going to get better.

“We are in the early stages, it's the third game we've played together.

“The most important thing today was the character I saw at 3-0 down. We stayed on the front foot and kept building to go forward.

“I saw lost of positives against a good outfit.”

He added: “These are tough games to win away to top teams at any level. They are top teams as they have top players who know the level and know the score, who know the game and play it well.

“Mansfield have a lot of boys with experience at this level.

“We have a lot of younger players who are progressing upwards and will take their time to find their feet at this level.

“We haven't got a lot of experience, but we have got a lot of energy and willingness to learn.”