PORT Vale may have kissed their play-off dream goodbye this afternoon after suffering a dismal 2-0 home defeat against Barnet, who had lost their previous 10 league games on the road, writes Steve Shaw.

Bees striker John O'Flynn made the difference as he scored in either half to record his 13th and 14th goals of the campaign in all competitions.

Vale were flat throughout but at least they created a string of half chances during the first half.

After the break they barely offered any threat in front of goal as Barnet eased to victory.

Vale made two changes from the side that produced a 2-1 victory at Torquay last weekend.

Centre-half John McCombe made way for Gareth Owen who returned after missing the trip to Plainmoor with a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, Doug Loft won the race to replace suspended central midfielder Anthony Griffith.

His biggest rival for the vacant role, Dave Howland, wasn't even named as a substitute after picking up a knee injury earlier this week.

Striker Geoff Horsfield, Vale's assistant-boss, also missed out after being struck down by a calf problem.

Barnet's line-up included 36-year-old centre-half Gary Breen at one end of the pitch and another old-timer, 41-year-old striker Paul Furlong, at the other.

The kick off was delayed by five minutes after match referee Scott Mathieson, who picked up an injury in the warm up, had to be replaced by fourth official, Carl Dunn, from Staffordshire.

Not for the first time in recent months the Valiants struggled to get going in the early stages.

However, they created the first chance, in the third minute, when Marc Richards connected with Tommy Fraser's right-flank cross but could only guide his eight-yard header into the arms of Bees keeper Jake Cole.

But the visitors stung Vale by taking an eighth-minute lead.

Albert Adomah received his own cross when Furlong headed it back to him on the right-hand side of Vale's box.

The winger squared the ball for O'Flynn to sweep home from eight yards.

Soon after, Vale striker Craig Davies latched onto a long ball and went to ground in Barnet's box under a tackle from defender Clovis Kamdjo.

However, Dunn waved away the forward's penalty appeal.

Loft sent a 10-yard header into Cole's arms, on 14 minutes, before the midfielder's 12-yard volley drifted harmlessly wide.

While Vale failed to dominate proceedings they still continued to offer a threat in the attacking third.

Richards's 19-minute cross was cleared to the edge of the area from where Fraser's deflected shot flew wide.

A Fraser right-wing corner, taken a minute later, was flicked on by Richards into the path of Sean Rigg at the far post but his volley cleared the bar.

Adomah also blazed over in the 28th minute to complete a rare Barnet attack, before Furlong did likewise five minutes from the break.

Seconds later, O'Flynn got the better of left-back Kris Taylor in the right-hand channel but dragged his shot the wrong side of the near post.

Taylor came to Vale's rescue a minute before the break by throwing his body on the line to block Adomah's ferocious 16-yard drive.

Furlong raced clear in first-half injury time but brave Vale defending ensured the ball was cleared to safety before the striker missed the target with a long-range effort.

Adams attempted to freshen up his attack at the start of the second half by introducing substitute Louis Dodds at the expense of Lewis Haldane.

However, neither side created a chance of note in the early stages of the second period.

In the 56th minute Furlong required treatment after a Vale clearance hit him flush in the face from point-blank range and was forced to retreat just after the hour-mark.

Vale displayed some nice build-up play at times but struggled to do it justice by producing no end product as the quiet home masses began to grow restless.

Adams's next attempt to breathe life into his troops was to replace Davies with winger Rob Taylor, which allowed Rigg to move inside to partner Richards while Richman also made his entrance on 75 minutes.

O'Flynn fired in a rare shot on goal in the 77th minute when his 25-yard set-piece missed the left-hand post by inches.

On 80 minutes Adomah angled in an 18-yard shot straight at Martin from the right-hand channel.

O'Flynn sealed victory for Barnet five minutes later after Albert Jarrett advanced down the right.

The winger veered in a cross to the near post where O'Flynn got across his marker and produced the slightest touch to send the ball past the advancing Martin.

Port Vale 0

Barnet 2

Match stats:

Teams:

Port Vale: Martin, Yates, Collins, Owen, K Taylor, Rigg Griffith, Fraser (Richman, 75), Haldane (Dodds, 46), Richards, Davies (R Taylor, 67).

Not used: Anyon, McCombe, Glover, Prosser.

Barnet: Cole, Devera, Breen, Kamdjo, Lockwood, Adomah (Gillett, 81), Livermore, M Hyde, Jarrett, Furlong (Deverdics, 63) O' Flynn.

Not used: O'Neill, J Hyde, Deen, Carpenter, Harrison.

Referee: C Dunn (Staffordshire)

Attendance: 4,571 (including 92 visitors)