Ian Hendon earned his first point as manager of Barnet in what was a bruising London derby at Underhill this afternoon.

John O'Flynn fired the Bees in front early in the first half, only for the Daggers to equalise midway through the second half.

Michael Leary was harshly red-carded minutes later, but the ten-man Bees comfortably held on to claim a point.

This was an eventful clash, but one very short on quality, with neither side really doing enough up front to deserve the win.

Barnet were without experienced defender Gary Breen, though there was a return for Joe Devera.

Neal Bishop also came back into the midfield at the expense of Max Porter who dropped to the bench.

Frenchman Kenny Gillet was named captain.

The Bees took just 12 minutes to break the deadlock, but it was the first shot of the game. John O'Flynn cut inside from the right and his low drive from the edge of the area deflected off a defender and sneaked in at the near post, just beyond keeper Tony Roberts' outstretched hand.

The Daggers responded with a couple of long-range efforts, while Devera also tried his luck from distance, but the ball flew well wide.

Ex-Bee Ben Strevens got himself into a good position on the half-hour but his header from a whipped-in cross flashed well wide of the home goal.

The visitors were awarded a free-kick in a central position just before the interval, but Sam Saunders curled the ball wide of Ran Kadoch's right-hand post.

It was not the most inspiring first half, with little good football played by either side, though the Bees were certainly the happier going in at the break, perhaps slightly fortunate to have the advantage.

The first clear chance of the second period fell to Saunders, after Bishop had given the ball away. Fortunately, his shot flew past the upright.

Dagenham were continuing to look dangerous, Glen Southam driving wide from 25 yards.

With the Daggers forced to push forward, Barnet started to find more space, Albert Adomah giving the visiting defence a torrid time with his surging runs.

But the equaliser came 20 minutes into the second half. Kadoch made a mess of a long Roberts' clearance, dropping the ball into the path of Mark Nwokeji who gleefully swept the ball in from a central position 12 yards out.

And it was to get worse when Leary, already booked, was sent off for what the referee deemed to be an unfair challenge. However, the decision appeared harsh, as Leary looked to have won the ball.

Ten-man Barnet regrouped and actually enjoyed plenty of possession in the closing stages, Nicky Deverdics seeing a powerful drive blocked by a defender following a half-cleared corner.

BARNET (4-4-2): Kadoch; Devera, Yakubu (Deverdics 45), Townsend, Gillet; Adomah, Leary, Bishop, Black (Nicolau 70); Furlong, O'Flynn. Subs not used: Harrison, Porter, Birchall.

Attendance: 2,366.