A controversial penalty decision denied Boreham Wood all three points in their Conference Premier clash with Barrow as they were held to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

Luke Garrard opted to persevere with the starting XI which overcame Maidstone 3-2 in the FA Trophy in their previous fixture and his faith was rewarded with a solid display.

Both sides struggled to control matters in the first half and clear cut chances were few and far between.

Barrow had the better of the early exchanges but their profligacy in front of goal ensured the scores remained 0-0 at the break.

Wood started the second period in far more fluid fashion, but were fortunate not to concede a penalty shortly after the restart as Ritchie Bennett went down in the box.

The home side’s greater attacking intent was rewarded eight minutes after the restart when Angelo Balanta fired Wood into a 1-0 lead.

Matt Paine picked his teammate out some 20 yards from goal and Balanta’s well struck left footed effort found its way into the bottom corner.

After exchanging chances, Wood were hit with a sucker punch after they conceded what they believed to be the softest of spot kicks.

Again Bennett was involved as he backed into Paine and threw himself to the ground.

To the shock of the Wood defence the referee pointed to the spot and Byron Harrison calmly converted to level the scores.

Wood felt further aggrieved in the closing stages after a foul on the edge of the box resulted in a free-kick, despite the home side believing the challenge took place in the area.

The result leaves Wood ninth in the table ahead of a home match against Braintree Town tonight.

Town are currently 21st in the table and Wood will be confident of getting a positive result at meadow Park.