Tranmere Rovers suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Barnet as three late goals sent the hosts through to the second round of the FA Cup.

Rovers had started brightly, with Dylan Jones testing goalkeeper Matthew Cox straight from kick-off. Jones found space at the near post, but Cox pushed his effort behind for a corner.

Barnet responded two minutes later when Adam Senior found space inside the Tranmere penalty area, only to fire over the crossbar.

Idris Kanu then threatened for the hosts in the 15th minute, curling an effort narrowly wide before going close again four minutes later. Having beaten three defenders, his shot sailed over the crossbar.

In the 11th minute, Lee O’Connor, who came into the side in place of Joel Senior, had done just enough to prevent Maskell from getting a shot away close to Luke McGee’s goal.

As the half-hour mark approached, Barnet came close to breaking the deadlock when Romoney Crichlow’s powerful low drive beat McGee. However, Olly Scott, making his second start, was well placed to clear the ball off the line.

Tranmere came out positively after the interval and began to put the home defence under pressure.

Ten minutes into the second half, Tom Ince was brought down just outside the penalty area, giving Rovers a free-kick. His effort was blocked, but the ball fell to Scott, whose shot narrowly missed the top-right corner.

Jones then had two opportunities in quick succession. The first came when the ball fell to him from a corner, but his effort went just wide of the near-left post. On the next attack, he fired over the crossbar.

Tranmere continued to look for a breakthrough and came particularly close in the 60th minute. Charlie Whitaker collected the ball and produced an effort towards the bottom-left corner, only for Cox to make an acrobatic save at the near post.

Whitaker was denied again five minutes later when his follow-up effort struck the woodwork.

Darrell Clarke made a triple substitution in the 63rd minute, bringing on Ryan Watson, Bobby Faulkner and Joel Senior for Tom Conlon, Jordan Turnbull and Joe Ironside.

But despite Tranmere’s efforts, it was Barnet who found the breakthrough with ten minutes remaining.

A well-worked corner routine saw Brandon Comley deliver a cross into the penalty area, where substitute Kane Smith had been left unmarked at the back post. He made no mistake, smashing the ball into the roof of the net to put the hosts ahead.

The goal was a cruel blow for Rovers, who had been competitive throughout and had created opportunities of their own.

Barnet then doubled their advantage on the cusp of five minutes of added time. Substitute Damola Ajayi played the ball to Nnamdi Ofoborh, who finished from close range with his left foot to make it 2-0.

There was still time for a third, with Ajayi completing the scoring in the fifth added minute with a fine finish, effectively the last kick of the game.

The three late goals turned what had been a closely contested tie into a heavy defeat for Tranmere, as Barnet booked their place in the FA Cup second round.

Match Highlights – To follow…

Post Match Interview – To follow…