Hendon certainly had to do it the hard way to collect all three Ryman Premier Division League points from their trip to Ashford Town (Middlesex) on Saturday, losing manager Gary McCann to a family illness early in the first half and playing the second half with only ten men.

There were four changes to the team which had snatched a point against Boreham Wood a week earlier: Craig Vargas, James Bent, Lee O’Leary and Glenn Garner came in for Jamie Turley, Sam Collins, Kevin Maclaren and Brian Haule, with all but the suspended Haule joining Danny Dyer and Lubomir Guentchev on the bench.

Ashford Town started very strongly on a pitch that was just barely playable because of frost, but it must be said, it did not appear to deteriorate significantly as the game progressed. In just the second minute, Scott Harris had an effort blocked and the Dons didn’t actually venture into the Ash Trees’ half until the sixth minute.

Hendon’s first attack of note nearly brought a goal, but Sam Byfield’s cross fizzed inches away from the lunging Harry Hunt’s boot. At the other end, Gavin Smith was equally close to reaching a cross from Adam Logie. Had either player made any sort of proper contact, they would have opened the scoring.

In the 14th minute, Ashford should have taken the lead. An attack down the left wing opened up the Hendon defence and, when the ball fell to Scott Harris he seemed certain to score. He beat William Viner, but not the covering Vargas, who headed the ball off the line.

Five minutes later, Hunt did touch another low driven cross a few minutes later, but he could get no more than his studs to the ball and could not divert it goalwards. Marc Leach then collected a caution for handball, although it did appear he was trying to move his arms away as he tried to block a through ball.

In the 26th minute, Ashford again came close to taking the lead when Logie met a Paul Johnson cross beyond the far post, but his attempt came back off the crossbar and was eventually hacked away.

By this time, McCann was on his way to hospital and Freddie Hyatt effectively took charge of the team. With Ashford doing most of the pressing, Hendon were happy to play on the counter, and Ashford were distinctly uncomfortable on a number of occasions. Billy Jeffreys became the second player cautioned when he scythed down Hunt, who had turned past him.

The hard pitch had taken its toll on players with a number of stoppages for players who had fallen awkwardly in challenges. It was a little surprising that only two minutes extra were added to the first half, but it was enough time for the Dons to take the lead.

Jamie Busby started the move with a clever pass to Hunt. Bent made a run outside him, but Jeffreys, pretty much the last defender, stayed with the man in possession. Hunt’s pass to Bent was inch perfect and the Cornishmen had a clear run at goal. Paul Burgess came off his line to narrow the angle, but BENT lifted the ball over him with consummate ease and was celebrating the goal even before the ball hit the back of the net.

Moments before the half-time whistle, Garner collided with Vinnie O’Sullivan who was trying to clear the ball. The referee ruled there was no foul but Ashford players were still incensed as the half-time whistle went. As the players were walking off the pitch, Leach and Logie clashed with the Hendon player appearing to have raised his hands to Logie.

Before the second half started, it was announced that the referee had entered the Hendon dressing room at half-time and shown Leach a red card for violent conduct. Hendon thus had to play the second half with ten men.

The reshuffled Hendon defence, with James Burgess, James Parker and Vargas effectively forming a three, with O’Leary and Busby sitting just in front of them and Byfield and Bent more like wing-backs, did a sterling job. Hunt dropped deeper, leaving Garner to fend for scraps in attack. It allowed Ashford to enjoy the bulk of possession, but it was mostly some distance from the Hendon box.

In the 53rd minute, Johnson brought Viner to his knees with a powerful shot, which he held. He kicked downfield and when the ball fell to Bent he forced Paul Burgess into a similar stop.

Ashford were lucky, three minutes later, when a superb strike by Busby brought an equally good save from Paul Burgess. He couldn’t hold onto the ball and Hunt latched onto it. The goalkeeper pulled down Hunt, but the referee’s whistle was already blowing because his assistant had spotted Hunt in an offside position when Busby struck the ball.

The save of the game came in the 73rd minute, when Viner flew to his right to keep out an effort from Warren Harris. It was one of the rare occasions in the second half when the Dons’ defence had been breached. Without the influential Byron Harrison, Ashford lacked the potency that was obvious in their spell of good form earlier this season, and his absence was felt again when Gavin Smith fired wide with the goal gaping three minutes later.

Both teams made changes for the final quarter of an hour, Guentchev coming on for the tiring Garner and Jimmy Stanford taking over from Smith. The Hendon change allowed Hunt to move further forward, where he continued to discomfort Jeffreys, and Bent to go back to a central midfield position.

Hendon had just about weathered the Ashford storm when they scored a superb second goal. The match was in the 90th minute when Busby released Bent. Byfield came up the left flank while Hunt peeled off towards the centre of the goal.

The outnumbered Ashford defence followed Hunt’s move, so when Bent found Byfield, he only had to step around the lunge of O’Sullivan before drilling a shot past Paul Burgess, off the far post and into the net.

Although there were three minutes of stoppage time to be played, the Hendon defence, where Parker, Vargas and James Burgess had been outstanding, never looked like being breached.

With Margate losing, Hendon climbed one place in the table, to 20th. More performances of that type, gritty, smart and committed, the Greens can look forward to 2009 with optimism in their fight against relegation.

(Report by David Ballheimer - not to be reproduced in any form without the author's agreement)