Mark Robson admitted his side’s second half performance in their 4-1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle was their worst of the season and joint head coach Edgar Davids stated the Bees must to better when defending set-pieces.

The Pilgrims went ahead in the second minute at Underhill as Rhys Griffiths fired in a penalty after Mark Byrne was controversially judged to have fouled Luke Young.

Maxime Blanchard powerfully headed a corner in to double the advantage but Davids Stephens netted for the Bees.

However, second half goals from Paris Cowen-Hall and Young sealed victory for Plymouth and Barnet remain winless this season.

Reflecting on the contest, Robson said: “We were hopeful we would get something today but I’ve got to be honest and I thought the second half in particular was the worst performance I’ve seen so far.

““I was very disappointed that we conceded from a set-piece. We got back into it from a set-piece and I was hopeful we could turn the game around. Unfortunately we couldn’t and like it said, the second half was the worst this season.”

Dutchman Davids added: “It started poorly and we will have to analyse the game and come up with some solutions for next week.

“You have to see if there is some progression. Last week there was but I have to admit today I didn’t see any progression. There only those couple of spells and they were too little to really be a threat so we will have to build on those things.”

There is no doubt the penalty decision had a massive impact on the contest and Robson stated he “couldn’t believe” the decision.

He continued: “It was very harsh. I couldn’t believe it was a penalty but when your luck is down these things happen.”

Robson’s fellow head coach agreed the referee made the wrong decision.

Davids: “It was 200% a block of the ball and not a foul at all. But referees are human so you have to take it. To be honest it was very important because it was only after one or two minutes, so it was a big decision.

“But then we have conceded from three set-pieces.

“It is disappointing when you lose because of set-pieces and that is something we will have to work on. But there were some great spells but not enough on them, so we will have to work on it.”