Southend United were denied at the death and had to settle for a point on the road at Walsall, after conceding a last minute penalty.
The Blues struggled to find their rhythm during the first half of this League One encounter, but took advantage of Walsall going down to 10 men after the break.
Barnard's fourth goal in three games drew Southend level and he then claimed the assist as Freedman came off the bench to score in the 80th minute.
That looked to be the winning goal, but Walsall had the last word when Sam Parkin scored from the spot in injury time to secure a 2-2 draw.
Both teams looked to find their feet during the early exchanges, but with 11 minutes on the clock, Walsall took the lead from the first clear-out opening of the match.
Steve Jones reacted quicker than Matt Heath inside the penalty box to head Darryl Westlake's free kick into the far corner of the net.
Peter Till drilled a low shot from the edge of the area into the gloves of Steve Mildenhall, as the hosts looked to build on the momentum they had gained by scoring the first goal.
Southend's first serious foray into the final third handed James Walker the chance to cut in from the right-hand side and arrow a low strike which was comfortably dealt with by goalkeeper Clayton Ince.
Unfortunately, it was the closest the Blues came to troubling their opponents, as the referee blew for time on an uneventful first half.
Jones was nearly on the scoresheet again 12 minutes into the second half, after breaking inside the box.
But this time, Mildenhall was alert to the danger and made an impressive save to keep out his low shot with his left foot.
A further four minutes later and Walsall were then reduced to 10 men, after Dwayne Mattis picked up his second yellow card of the match for a late tackle on Alan McCormack
Southend boss Steve Tilson reacted to this by making a double change, as Lee Sawyer and Freedman entered the fray.
Frank Moussa soon had a sight of goal when he found space to rifle a fierce strike just wide of the left-hand post, as the Blues now looked to turn the game in their favour.
And it didn't take long for Southend to make the numerical advantage count, as Barnard capitalised on a rush of blood by Ince.
The Walsall goalkeeper threw the ball directly into the path of Barnard and he made no mistake by slotting the ball through his legs in the 66th minute.
A darting run from Moussa ended with the Belgian midfielder striking a low effort wide before McCormack was stopped in his tracks by Mark Hughes inside the box.
Southend were finding the space they needed and with 10 minutes remaining they took the lead.
Moussa raced down the left flank and as he crossed into the box, Barnard stuck out a leg and flicked the ball into the path of Freedman to head into the far corner of the net.
But as we entered the first minute of injury time, Walsall were handed a penalty after Sawyer was penalised for a trip on Parkin.
Parkin stepped up himself and sent Mildenhall the wrong way from the spot, as both team finished with a share of the spoils.
Southend: Mildenhall, Francis, Heath, Barrett, White, Grant (Betsy 81), Christophe (Sawyer 62), McCormack, Moussa, Walker (Freedman 62), Barnard.
Walsall: Ince, Hughes, Smith, Jones (Taundry 76), Mattis, Parkin, Deeney, Westlake, Till (Nicholls 84), Vincent, Richards.
