Hendon were given a lesson in disciplined enthusiasm by a lively young Barnet team containing seven players who appeared for the Bees in the Football League last season.

The match, switched to The Hive a day earlier, was just the second official match played in Barnet's new stadium, and it appeared that a number of the Hendon team were overawed by the surroundings. And it is a very fair bet that the Greens will not see a playing surface as good as this one all season.

Once more, Hendon manager Gary McCann was more concerned with the minutes each player got than the overall performance, but he was so unhappy with the first-half display, it rather changed some of his plans. Nonetheless 21 players saw duty, with only goalkeeper Mike McEntegert playing the full 90. By comparison, Barnet made only four changes during the match.

The Bees could have taken the lead in the third minute when a left wing corner was headed goalwards by Jake Hyde. McEntegert was well beaten, but Michael Duberry did well to head the ball off the goalline.

Barnet were much the busier team and they constantly pressurised Hendon in possession, even inside the Greens' penalty and this clearly unsettled a few players. A number of desperate passes were picked off by the Barnet midfield and Luisma and Iffy Allen ramped up the pressure with incisive running and passes to Hyde and his strike-partner George Sykes.

McEntegert made a couple of excellent saves, but he was beaten again when Barnet tore through the Hendon midfield and Allen rolled the ball towards what appeared an unguarded net. He was denied the honour of scoring Barnet's first ever goal at their new home because Carl McCluskey made a brilliant intervention three yards from the goalline.

It delayed the inevitable for only a few more minutes. In the 24th minute, a ball through midfield was destined for Hyde, who was in an offside position. Sykes wasn't, however, and he took control of the ball, rode the challenge of Duberry and fed Hyde, who calmly slotted home.

Interpretation of the modern offside law is complex and there was a strong case to be made that Hyde had remained active in the move and thus was still offside. To be fair, Barnet's one-goal lead was the least they deserved at that stage and there were no protests from defenders or the bench.

Two minutes later, McEntegert produced a wonderful save to push aside a drive by Luisma, the young Spaniard having nonchalantly curled his shot towards the top right hand corner.

In the 34th minute, the goalkeeper had a moment that may haunt him for the foreseeable future. Attempting to play the ball out of trouble, he was faced by Sykes, with Luisma running in to close down the outlet pass to Brandon Horner. If you play with bees you might get stung, and McEntegert certainly was.

He attempted to dribble the ball around Sykes, less than a couple of yards from his own goal between the posts. Sykes stuck out a leg, flicked the ball off McEntegert's shins and the goalkeeper could not react quickly enough to stop the ball rolling into the net. He immediately raised his hand to his team-mates acknowledging his guilt.

Somehow, just before half-time, Hendon got back into the game. Jefferson Louis and Anthony Thomas had worked very hard and caused the Barnet defence a few problems, without ever getting close enough to alarm or even work Nick Jupp.

Two minutes before half-time, Louis held up the ball and fed Lee O'Leary, who quickly passed to Dean Cracknell. The ball from Cracknell down the right side was perfectly weighted for the over-lapping Horner, who whipped in a cross which Thomas headed home in front Jack Saville.

In the second half, having made five changes, Hendon were much more in the game. The Bees were forced to be more defensive and, having themselves withdrawn Luisma, were less of an attacking threat.

There was still plenty of danger from Sykes and Hyde, while Jamal Lowe, who had replaced Allen at the interval and Luisma, continued to probe effectively. Mauro Vilhete, who spent a month on loan at Hendon in late 2011, formed a dangerous right-sided threat with Lowe.

With 20 minutes remaining, and a little against the run of play, Barnet extended their lead. Dominic Vose made a great run from midfield, passed out to Lowe and swept home the resulting cross.

Three minutes later, the match was halted when two sprinklers on the edge of the Hendon penalty area sprang into life, consigning McEntegert to an early bath,

When play resumed, Hendon won a free-kick just outside the Barnet penalty area. Michael Murray's effort was half-blocked by the wall, but Dave Diedhiou rammed the ball into the net. His joy at scoring what he thought was his fourth goal in as many preseason matches, was stilled by the upraised flag of the referee's assistant.

Vilhete had three good scoring chances in the final 10 minutes, but failed to take any of them. But the Bees did a fourth goal in sprinkler stoppage time when a right-wing corner was headed hom by Saville.

"I think the occasion was too much for a few players," said Hendon manager Gary McCann. "They were a bit overawed by their surroundings and didn't do themselves justice.

"Still, I can take positives out of the game, even if it is to focus on the negative of our first-half display. It shows we have plenty to work on.

"I thought we were much better in the second and Lee O'Leary was absolutely outstanding, with Hyde, probably the best player on the pitch. That said, I don't think was an unfair reflection of the match."