Barking gained their first point of the new Bostik North season at Haringey Borough, but joint boss Justin Gardner was left feeling hard done by.

The Blues drew 1-1 at Coles Park on Monday night, but Gardner was left wanting more as the 10-man hosts netted 74th-minute equaliser following a momentary lapse of concentration from his side.

The visitors had led the game since the 25th minute thanks to Alan Taylor’s goal and Gardner felt his side were worth it, saying: “We played lovely football and controlled the game up until this point (the goal).

“But their goal was disappointing as we did have two chances to clear the ball, but didn’t and we had numerous chances to finish the game.”

Gardner highlighted the key turning point of the match to be the dismissal of Haringey’s Jorge Dtassi-Sambu, adding: “When they went down to 10 men the game completely changed.

“At 1-0 up and 11 v 11 it never appeared that we were going to lose the lead, but them being brought down to 10 men really changed the game. As most football fans probably know, for some reason when teams play with 10 men the performance levels go up and this was the case.”

The disappointment of letting a potential win slip, after a 3-2 opening-day loss at home to Walthham Abbey, was eclipsed by the generally positive performance of Barking, though.

Gardner said: “Last night’s performance was much improved from the weekend, our work rate was second to none and that was really impressive.

“Upon reflection however, before the game if we had gone to their ground and taken a point then we would have been happy, so it was a well deserved point.

“Overall it was a positive performance, as it is a largely new team and the performance from the boys was positive. Once we gain some momentum and as long as injuries don’t hit, I feel this could be a successful season”

Barking’s next game comes in the FA Cup preliminary round against Saffron Walden Town at Mayesbrook Park on Saturday.