Goals from Mauro Vilhete and John Akinde have given Barnet a 2-0 lead at the break in their Conference Premier fixture at Torquay United.

Barnet, who saw their lead at the top of the standings cut to seven points in midweek, started brightly at Plainmoor and could have taken the lead after six minutes when Akinde glanced wide from a good position inside the box.

Moments later, Torquay responded through Jordan Chapell, who broke clear of attention from a Barnet defender but his shot fizzed wide of Graham Stack's post.

Louis Briscoe wasted another opening for the home side before Barnet struck on the quarter-hour mark through Vilhete, who picked up Akinde's lay-off before curling the ball into the top corner for his first goal of the season.

That goal saw Barnet begin to get on top and they came close to a second when Curtis Weston had a free kick deflected wide of the post.

However, shortly after the half-hour mark, the visitors were reduced to 10 men when Bondz N'Gala was dismissed after being adjudged to have been the last man when hauling down Briscoe.

The sending-off had seemingly given Torquay the edge but six minutes before the break, the home side also lost a player as Aaron Downes was sent for an early bath after an off-the-ball incident inside the penalty area.

That gave Akinde the opportunity to step up to convert the spot kick for his 16th league goal of the season.