EDGAR Davids was sent off for a foul on James Beattie as Accrington Stanley were denied victory by a controversial penalty at Barnet tonight.

Former Southampton and England striker Beattie was handed his much anticipated Stanley debut as a 79th-minute substitute, and Barnet’s captain and joint manager Davids received his marching orders with five minutes to go after receiving his second yellow card for a foul on the Reds’ new striker.

Rommy Boco had put Stanley ahead in the 53rd minute, netting the rebound after Graham Stack had saved his first effort.

But Mark Byrne levelled with 19 minutes to go – scoring from the spot at the second attempt after Ian Dunbavin was ruled to have moved off his line to save the initial penalty.

Stanley: Ian Dunbavin; Dean Winnard, Peter Murphy, Rob Atkinson, Lee Molyneux; Luke Joyce, George Miller; Rommy Boco, Will Hatfield (James Beattie 79), James Gray; Padraig Amond. Subs not used: Andrew Dawber, Toto Nsiala, Michael Liddle, Craig Lindfield, Danny Schofield, Charlie Barnett.