ANYONE who saw the Bees give promotion favourites Shrewsbury a good run for their money on Saturday might have been surprised by Barnet boss Ian Hendon's post-match comments.

Some might even suggest he was a little harsh on his players.

But Hendon has set his targets high.

"I was not happy at all, because of the second-half performance. It was like two different teams out there. And I've told the players that," Hendon said.

The Barnet dressing room is not one for the thin-skinned, it seems. Just imagine if the Bees had lost!

Certainly the hosts lost their way a little after the interval, and some might even say they tired, but the first-half showing was one to savour. Despite conceding an early goal, the Bees bounced back to lead at the break, striker Jake Hyde grabbing a brace in his first full game.

Hendon said: "If we can play like we did in the first half, we can beat anyone, but it will be much different if we play like we did in the second."

Hyde was one of two players the boss singled out for special praise, the other being Albert Adomah.

Of Hyde, Hendon said: "He banged in two goals, and that's what you want from a striker."

Hyde struck his first Barnet goal on the half-hour, brilliantly steering an Adomah cross in off the far post with his head.

But a lot had happened before then, in what was an eventful and entertaining first half.

The Shrews had taken the lead inside two minutes, Nathan Elder launching himself at a cross to plant a header past Jake Cole.

But the Bees responded in the right manner, going on to dominate the opening 45 minutes.

They should have levelled just before they did, when Adomah was tripped in the box, though Paul Furlong's driven penalty was superbly parried by the diving Chris Neal.

Barnet were to gain a second penalty just before the interval, Hyde impeded as he tried to get on the end of a high ball into the box.

This time the youngster picked up the ball, planting his spot kick in the middle of the goal, Neal having dived the same way as before.

The Shrews came out much stronger in the second half and more poor marking at the back allowed Dave Hibbert to nod home a Shane Cansdell-Sherriff corner for the equaliser.

Both sides had chances, though the visitors finished the stronger and looked the likelier to find a winner as the Bees ran out of steam.

Overall, a draw was probably a fair result and, against a much-fancied side, probably a decent one for Barnet.

But only a brave man in the dressing room would have tried telling that to Mr Hendon at 5pm on Saturday.

BARNET (4-4-2): Cole; O'Neill, Yakubu, Leach, Gillet; Adomah, Hughes (Deverdics 68), M Hyde, Jarrett (Bolasie 78); J Hyde, Furlong. Subs not used: Carpenter, Devera, Kamjdo, Deen, Charles. Attendance: 1,835.