Barnet head coach Dean Brennan showed his frustrations at his side’s lack of killer instinct as they went down 2-0 at Oldam Athletic on Tuesday.

After a promising start with several early chances, the home side took all three points thanks to a pair of penalties from James Norwood either side of the break.

“The second penalty is definitely not a penalty. The first one is, but we felt we should have had one as well. It was a game about both boxes,” Brennan told the club’s media.

“Norwood sort of bought the first penalty, but he brings you that class and style and is the difference in the game.

"We had several chances - I think we had the first three clear chances of the game, and we never took them, and then they get a penalty.

“The wind has killed the game, so it’s been a sticky night with the weather, but it was just naïve of us, and you can see our youth when you come up against such an experienced side like Oldham.”

Despite the loss, Brennan’s side created enough chances to have a say in which way the result went, and the Barnet boss looked at the difference in quality between the two sides.

“We had so many clear chances, but that comes down to quality - the quality of the player. If you put Norwood in our team, then we probably win 4-0,” he added.

“That’s the truth. [Callum] Stead has a glorious chance when he come on - free header. Nicke [Kabamba] has skipped inside, and it’s been blocked. It’s come back out and been blocked again, so good defending by them.

“I’m just really frustrated. At 1-0 it’s a tight game and if anything, we were the better side. We had better chances, but we couldn't get our fluent style going because of the weather.”

Brennan also pointed to the controversial decision to award Oldham’s second penalty, suggesting the bar is too low for players to gain an advantage from a spot-kick.

“We had the clearer chances and the ref has just given them a penalty. I’ve just watched it back, and it’s just absolutely crazy,” he said, through gritted teeth.

“If that’s a penalty, then there would be ten penalties given every game. He’s been kidnapped, and I thought the referee’s performance tonight was way below the standard.”

The Bees now travel to Gateshead on Saturday in the National League looking to avenge the 2-0 home defeat suffered at The Hive in November and re-establish themselves in contention for promotion come the end of the season.