Edgar Davids insisted a horrific injury sustained by Luton defender Jonathan Smith overshadowed an entertaining game between Barnet and Luton which saw the home side lose 2-1 to their local rivals, writes Dev Trehan.

Luton, who brought 1700 fans with them to the Hive on Boxing Day, raced into a two-goal lead after 30 minutes with goals from Paul Benson and Alex Lawless.

Barnet got a goal back through Jake Hyde’s second-half header but not before they were reduced to 10 men after Jon Nurse’s ill-timed tackle on Smith which saw the latter leave the field in a leg brace.

Davids admitted the stomach-churning incident, which happened right in front of both benches, had left him feeling distressed.

“For me it was a very bad moment,” the Barnet player-head coach said. “I know that Nurse did not do it on purpose but for me it was horrific - really horrific. It was definitely a nasty incident. 

“I know he didn't do it on purpose, he went for the ball but he was too late. He caught him because the other guy was quicker and I'm not going to argue with that (the red card).

“When you’re sitting there on the bench and you’re exposed to something like this - I couldn't even look at it - my stomach turned.

“I have to give a big compliment to (Luton manager) John Still and his men for still playing in a disciplined way and not losing control because although it was not on purpose, sometimes these things can spin out of control.”

Davids said he was proud of the way his players performed in the second half against the high-flying Hatters who remain second in the Skrill Premier after their victory at the Hive.

“The incident today was for me the turning point but the second half we did really well.” Davids said. “We created a lot in the second half. We scored one and we could have definitely scored another one and we didn't give them too many opportunities to be dangerous.

“The thing is I don’t doubt the character of my players. We've shown it a couple of times before when we have pulled level or even got a win out of it but it’s the first half that we have to close the game.”