Barnet boss Dean Brennan warned his side that sloppiness in the early stages of games will cost them sooner rather than later, despite the Bees’ 2-0 win over AFC Fylde at the Hive on Saturday.

Second-half strikes from substitute Nicke Kabamba and Callum Stead secured the points for the National League leaders, although a first half of wasted opportunities and untidiness on the ball seemed to irk the Bees manager.

“They made it difficult for us. In the first half, we were sloppy in our play,” Brennan told the club’s media.

“We didn’t offer enough quality in the first half, and then we got Nicke on; we got Steady in the ten. Steady went beyond a bit better than Brunty and Chappers, and I thought we penetrated them more and fully deserved our victory.”

And Brennan continued to shed light on the deficiencies in possession in the first half.

“We were just so sloppy in the first half. Chappers kept turning the ball over, giving it away, which is not like him,” he said.

“Not enough penetration; we didn’t run forward well enough, and our first touch wasn’t forward. We were thinking backwards, and it reminded me a little bit of the other night in the second half at Aldershot.

“At half-time, I said to the players, we had a little bit of luck, to be fair. They possibly could have had a penalty. I just said to the players, 'just stay patient, make sure your first touch is forward, and think forward before you do anything. Run forward without the ball, and it will open the gaps up', and we did that much better in the second half.”

The Bees have enjoyed the lion’s share of possession so far this season, with that trend continuing on Saturday, and Brennan expects the opposition to keep making life difficult for his side.

“Apart from against Gateshead, we’ve dominated possession in every game,” he said defiantly.

“We expect that from teams when they come here against us. I thought they tried to jump us a little bit. Their centre halves would jump our tens, and then our movement in the forward line wasn’t good enough.

“When Nicke came on, he would just pull on the shoulder, turn over, and play hard. He’s just a natural centre forward. I didn’t start Nicke because he played 90 and should've never played 90 away.

"He wasn’t meant to do that, so I’ve just got to wrap him up a little bit. Hopefully now he’s come through this okay and get a full week’s training before Boston and we’ll get him rolling again. That’s three in three for him, so it’s really positive.”

Barnet host Boston United in the National League at the Hive on Saturday (3pm) and have a home tie against Chelmsford in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round on October 12.