Barnet moved a point clear the summit of the Conference by drawing 1-1 with FC Halifax Town on Tuesday night, a result Martin Allen believes shows how far the Bees have come since last season.

Curtis Weston put Barnet ahead shortly after the hour mark when he headed home from Lee Cook's corner. And the Bees looked set to take all three points from The Shay until the home side won a free-kick in the 90th minute.

David Stephens earned a second booking for committing the foul and from the resulting set piece, Lois Maynard bundled home to snatch a last-gasp equaliser for Halifax and deny Barnet a crucial win.

The draw means the Bees edge a point ahead of second-placed Bristol Rovers with seven games remaining.

However, the game was in stark contrast to the last meeting between the two sides, which ended with Halifax running out 4-0 winners at The Hive in April, ending the hosts' slim play-off hopes last term.

Speaking after collecting an invaluable point in Yorkshire, Allen highlighted the defeat against the Shaymen - which came shortly after his latest return to the club - as the reference point for Barnet's success this season.

He said: "We had some great opportunities, but I cannot forget - and it is a measure of how far we’ve come - that game at the end of last season when we played Halifax at home and they should have beaten us about seven or eight nil.

"It is a measure of how far we’ve come in such a short space of time that we can come up here and apply ourselves as we did."

Allen continued: "A couple of months ago we had a sticky little patch away from home where we couldn’t deal with or maintain the physical aspect of these games and we got hammered a few times away from home (against Grimsby Town and Lincoln City).

"Today, you have got to say it is a massive improvement and credit to every player that took the shirt tonight."

And having lost five of their previous eight Conference fixtures prior to Saturday's 2-1 win at Eastleigh, the Bees have steadied the ship by collecting four points in as many days.

Said Allen: "I think over the last four games now we have had two wins, a draw a defeat so that is seven points from four games. It is an improvement.

"Obviously we had a bit of work to do and some things to look at but it is a big improvement. The players have done really well in both the game away at Eastleigh and then coming here - those are two tough games for our players and everybody has acquitted themselves really well."

Asked for his views on the dismissal of Stephens, Allen replied: "I thought that David Stephens was very unlucky to be sent off. It was a very disciplined good performance with no bookings on Saturday and I thought that the bookings tonight were a little harsh. But it was a good performance from our team for sure. "

You can read the match report from Tuesday's draw by clicking here.