GRIMSBY Town endured a miserable afternoon as they crashed to defeat and had a man sent off at Barnet.

The Mariners started brightly but fell behind on 10 minutes when John O'Flynn converted a penalty that had been won by influential left winger Yannick Bolasie.

It was to get worse for Grimsby when Bolasie won a free kick on the edge of the area six minutes later and Albert Adomah converted at the second attempt.

As Town looked to get themselves back into the game in the second half, the hosts sealed the points when Bolasie scored the third goal on 68 minutes.

Although that was the end of the scoring, there was still time for substitute Barry Conlon to be shown the red card on his first appearance since a three-match ban, for an off-the-ball altercation with defender Kenny Gillet.

Just one change was made to the Town side that lost to Chesterfield in midweek, with Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro coming into the starting XI in place of Adrian Forbes.

Nick Colgan continued in goal, with Bradley Wood, Paul Linwood, Rob Atkinson and Joe Widdowson making up the defence.

Ryan Bennett continued in the defensive midfield position he has occupied in recent games, with Peter Bore, Jamie Clarke and Peter Sweeney also playing across the centre of the park.

Adam Proudlock was again chosen as the man to lead the Town attack with Akpa Akpro, with Conlon, Danny North, former Barnet midfielder Michael Leary, Chris Jones, Leigh Overton, Forbes and Danny Boshell.

The home side were looking to 41-year-old striker Paul Furlong to fire them to a first ever victory over the Mariners at Underhill, while other threats in the Bees' line-up would include wingers Adomah and Bolasie.

Grimsby were out to put the disappointment of the Saltergate defeat behind them and get back on track after two wins and a draw in their three games prior to the trip to Derbyshire.

Barnet were looking to build on the form that had taken them to within two points of the automatic promotion places ahead of kick off.

Town forced an early corner after a deflected shot by Akpa Akpro inside the first 30 seconds of the game.

And the early pressure continued when defender Gary Breen was forced to head over his own bar following a Sweeney free kick from inside the Barnet half.

From the corner, Atkinson won the initial header but Bennett could not finish at the far post.

But despite the good start from the Mariners, it was the home side who were given the opportunity to take the lead when Wood was adjudged to have brought down Bolasie inside the penalty area on 10 minutes.

Referee Darren Sheldrake pointed to the spot and striker O'FLYNN made no mistake from 12 yards, beating the dive of Colgan to put Barnet ahead.

Town had started the better of the two teams but after they went behind, it was to get worse soon afterwards.

Bolasie won a free kick at the expense of Linwood four minutes later, in a dangerous position on the edge of the area.The initial effort hit the wall but came back to ADOMAH, whose second shot was deflected past Colgan to make it 2-0 to the hosts.

The lead could have been stretched further just two minutes later.Again, Bolasie was at the centre of the action, getting away from the chasing Atkinson to go clear but Colgan produced a good save to deny him.

Akpa Akpro had a chance for Grimsby on 20 minutes but he was knocked off balance by Breen as he tried to get away from the defender.The challenge forced the Ivorian wide and he failed to keep the ball in play.

Linwood was forced to come off soon afterwards, still suffering from a head injury sustained earlier in the game.Leary was the man chosen as his replacement, with the Londoner coming on to face his former club in midfield and Bennett dropping back to cover in the centre of defence.

A good challenge by Wood stopped another Bolasie run inside the area shortly before the half-hour and the home side did not cause any further damage from the resulting corner.

Barnet were looking to attack down the Town left whenever possible, with Adomah getting the better of Clarke.

Widdowson was shown the first yellow card of the afternoon for a foul on Adomah near the right touchline.Micah Hyde's delivery was headed clear by Clarke.

Town were struggling to create any danger for the Barnet defence and as the half went on, home keeper Jake Cole had not been called into any serious action with no shots on target registered by the visitors.

Leary escaped a booking for a late challenge on Furlong with five minutes of the half to play.The free kick from Kenny Gillet led to appeals for a second penalty from the home fans, who believed Hyde was being pulled back but referee Sheldrake disagreed, waving play on.

Bennett was booked for dissent after a free kick had been given against Wood as the game moved towards three minutes of stoppage time.

Leary then had a chance to get a goal back for Town but his shot flashed past the post from 20 yards on the right.

After a promising start by the Mariners, it had all gone wrong afterwards and Barnet took a two-goal lead into the dressing rooms at half time.

Again, Town had work to do in the second half after failing to trouble Cole in the opening 45 minutes, although the visitors would have the benefit of the Underhill slope after the break.

No changes were made before the restart and it was a quiet opening to the second half from both sides.

The first to threaten were the Mariners, who forced two corners in quick succession, the first coming after a Proudlock shot from close range was deflected over the bar and the second following an overhead kick by Akpa Akpro.

Wood was the third Town player to have his name taken by the referee before Furlong had the ball in the net, only to see his effort disallowed for offside.

Proudlock limped off with an injury to be replaced by Danny North with 58 minutes on the clock, while Barry Conlon replaced Bore at the same time as Town looked for extra attacking options.

Adomah sent a Barnet free kick into the danger zone seconds later but defender Ismail Yakubu's header was well off-target.

A Town free kick from inside the Barnet half caused no problems for the Barnet backline as Sweeney's delivery was headed away.

Grimsby had begun to enjoy more possession and territory but as they looked to haul themselves back into the game, their hopes were dashed when Barnet scored their third of the afternoon.

After being instrumental in the first two goals, BOLASIE got his name on the scoresheet when he cut in from the right and fired an unstoppable strike from the edge of the box.

Leary missed the target with a header from a Sweeney corner as Town continued to look for what would now be just a consolation goal.

Mark Hughes shot over the bar for the hosts after he had been given space by Sweeney with 14 minutes to go.

That was the cue for Barnet boss Ian Hendon to make a triple substitution, with Adomah, O'Flynn and Hyde all being rested for the final stages of the game.

Substitute Albert Jarrett fouled Widdowson but Clarke's free kick was cut out by Furlong.

Town were almost on the scoresheet when a Clarke cross hit Yakubu and it too a good save from Cole to stop what would have been an own goal.

Then, Conlon nearly connected with an Akpa Akpro cross as town looked to finish strongly and give their 539 travelling supporters something to cheer.

Two more Sweeney corners within a minute of each other failed to cause any problems for the home defence.

A miserable afternoon for the Mariners was completed when Conlon, making his first appearance since a three-match suspension, was shown the red card for an off-the-ball altercation with Gillet.

The referee consulted with his assistant before sending the Irishman off, while North was also yellow-carded for unsporting behaviour following the incident.

Town were now showing their frustrations, with North walking a disciplinary tightrope after being booked.

The striker went down after an incident with Yakubu but a free kick to the Mariners was the only decision made by the referee.

Substitute Clovis Kamdjo shot straight at Colgan in what was the last chance for either side and as the final whistle blew, Town were left to reflect on another defeat.

The Mariners now make the trip to Hartlepool in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, before returning to league action when they face Burton Albion at Blundell Park on Saturday.