Will Davies (L) scored on his debut for Fleetwood Town as the Cod Army beat Barnet at The Hive
Barnet's seven-year wait for EFL football ended in defeat at home to Fleetwood Town on Saturday.
The Bees made a strong start on their League Two return but gifted the visitors the lead through a calamitous mistake from goalkeeper Owen Evans.
Fleetwood's new signing Will Davies caught the Barnet stopper outside his area, stealing the ball and jogging through to tap home his debut goal.
Captain Elliot Bonds doubled the lead five minutes into the second half to put the visitors in control.
Bees defender Danny Collinge, who had a goal disallowed for offside at 0-0, curled a shot against the post deep into added time as Barnet were shut out at home for the first time since November.
The Bees were playing their first match back in the EFL since they were relegated from League Two in 2018 and had been impressive in the early stages when Collinge tapped into the net but was denied by the flag for offside.
But after conceding a soft opener they were up against it and six minutes into the second half their task became even harder, as Bonds fired in via a deflection after Evans had dived to save Ryan Graydon's curling effort.
Barnet sent on last season's top scorer Callum Stead in response, while Fleetwood veteran Ched Evans almost scored with his first touch on the volley after also coming off the bench.
The hosts pushed but could find no way through Jay Lynch in the Fleetwood goal, with Collinge's curling effort cannoning back off the post deep into nine minutes of time added on.
What was the main talking point?
Barnet head coach Dean Brennan was critical of his players after their EFL return ended in defeat.
Goalkeeper Evans completed a permanent move from Cheltenham Town in the summer, having made 18 appearances on loan last season, and was caught on the ball a number of times in the first half.
A costly mistake felt inevitable and it came in the 22nd minute to allow Davies to give the visitors the lead.
"He has to own that [performance], that's down to him," Brennan told BBC Radio London.
"He missed all of pre-season with a lot of messing in the summer with his contract, with joining us.
"So when you miss pre-season and you are rusty you're going to do stupid things like that.
"At the end of the day he's put that performance in, not me. Their goalkeeper made saves when he had to."
Despite having 67% possession and 19 shots, Brennan was not impressed with the performance of his players in both boxes.
Jay Lynch in the Fleetwood goal made six saves to Evans' five.
It was Barnet's second defeat this week following their midweek exit from the Carabao Cup against Newport County on penalties and Brennan questioned whether some of his players were up to the challenge of playing in the EFL.
"I can't wait for the key players to come back," he said.
"It's great to have [Callum] Stead back, that's a massive positive from the game.
"Maybe this is a bridge too far for one or two of them, maybe I have to look at that."
Brennan said he and his staff and players would all be in to analyse the performance on Sunday and would not have a day off.
Are Barnet ready for the Football League? Dean Brennan speaks to BBC Radio London after the Bees' defeat
Which players stood out?
Barnet keeper Evans will be remembered in this game for the wrong reasons.
But Fleetwood's debut goalscorer Davies will go back to Lancashire with an early season boost.
Although it was one of the easiest finishes he will ever have, the former Sutton striker still showed good awareness to capitalise on the mistake at a time when Barnet had been imposing themselves at the other end of the pitch.
"On his football league debut at 26 it's a fantastic day for him in terms of the goal," Fleetwood boss Pete Wild told BBC Radio Lancashire.
"But I'm really pleased, their goalkeeper had done that two or three times and got away with it.
"So I'm really pleased that we were front-footed and worked on our press, stayed high and we took our opportunity."
"I know what League Two away trips take" - Fleetwood boss Pete Wild's post-match reaction
What's next for these two teams?
Barnet travel to Bromley for a London derby while Fleetwood host Bristol Rovers at Highbury Stadium on Saturday, 9 August, with both games kicking off at 15:00 BST.
