Hendon were grateful to Zak Joseph for a beautifully curled free-kick deep in stoppage for rescuing a point from a game they had seemed to have controlled for almost all of the second half. It would be wrong to say it was a harsh outcome for Burgess Hill Town, because they had contributed little to a game that rarely hit the heights and had not put an effort on target for the first 85 minutes.

From the team which beat Grays Athletic in midweek, Channing Campbell-Young and Matt Ball kept their places in the starting line-up, but there were returns for Arthur Lee, Sam Murphy, Michael Corcoran and Niko Muir. Harly Wise, Casey Maclaren, Keagan Cole and Kezie Ibe all were named on the subs' bench, with Ashley Nathaniel-George.

Burgess Hill were determined that they weren't going to suffer a similar defeat as they had in the FA Trophy a week earlier. They made four changes, bringing in goalkeeper Max Huxter, midfielder Charlie Bennett, wideman Lucas Rodrigues and central striker Tony Garrod, but they did a much better job stifling Hendon's attacking prowess.

Garrod had the first shot of the game, but he hit the side-netting from an acute angle. A similar strike from Zak Joseph had a similar outcome, and Campbell-Young also went close with a 20-yard drive after 25 minutes.

Both teams had penalty appeals for pushes waved aside and both were valid claims, but it took until the 30th minute for there to be a shot on target.

Huxter dived low to save a shot from Joseph, but he had to be quick to gather the ball as it bounced away from him. A minute later, the goalkeeper made a much better save to push aside a drive from Ball.

Murphy nearly put Hendon in trouble in the 33rd minute with a wayward pass, but Lee made a full-stretch intervention to stop Lee Harding running onto the loose ball.

Two minutes before the interval, a deep cross from the Hillians right wing was headed over the bar by Rodrigues, who could not get high enough to control his attempt on goal.

In stoppage time at the end of the half, Hendon took the lead. Joseph started it with a mazy run and pass to Ball, who fed the ball out to Campbell-Young on the right wing.

He drilled a low cross which Niko Muir backheeled goalwards, but was kept out by Huxter. The keeper did even better to keep out the first rebound, but was helpless as Dave Diedhiou finished off from a couple of yards out.

Hendon were much better in the second half, cutting out many of the mistakes that had made the opening period so poor. In the first 10 minutes, Ball with a header and Bray with a shot were narrowly high and wide, but it might have been better for the Greens if Bray had the header and Ball the shot.

Joseph fired a shot over the angle of post and crossbar with Huxter scrambling to make a save. The pressure from Hendon may have been building but there were no clear-cut openings and, midway through the half, Dan Uchechi made way for Ashley Nathaniel-George and Maclaren came on for Ball in a double substitution.

The best chances of the half came in the final 15 minutes. First Diedhiou rose high for a header, but from a great position he put the ball over the crossbar without a defender close enough to him to be an inconvenience.

Just after this chance went begging the Hillians, who had not come close to getting the better of the Hendon back-line, made the first of their three changes, Aaron Smith-Joseph coming on for Rodrigues. In the 83rd minute, Brannon O'Neill made way for Tiernen McKenzie.

The last change saw Garrod go off and Pat Harding took over from him. The three Hillians substitutes may not have had long on the pitch but all played major roles in how the game would finish

Two minutes later, Lovelock made a good save, low to his right, keeping out a drive from Ibrahim Diallo. The corner was cleared and Hendon could again have made the game safe when Nathaniel-George and Muir found themselves in a two-on-one situation, but they failed to play it properly.

In the last minute of normal time, Hendon were made to pay for their profligacy. Possession was lost midway inside the Hillians half, and they immediately launched a counter-attack down their left flank with Smith-Joseph galloping clear.

He played a low pass into the penalty area which eluded two defenders. The ball ended up at the feet of Lee Harding and he had no trouble in beating Lovelock from 10 yards out.

Things got worse for the Greens in the third minute of stoppage time. McKenzie attacked down the left side and the ball was played to the edge of the penalty area, then forward to Pat Harding.

The substitute looked suspiciously offside as the ball reached him, but he may have timed his run to perfection and, given the opportunity to score, HARDING made no mistake.

Having looked in little or no trouble for most of the first 93 minutes, Hendon were suddenly chasing the game and they certainly had enough attacking weapons on the pitch to redeem the situation. They immediately launched a raid and got to within a couple of yards of the penalty area.

Huxter screamed to his defenders not to commit a foul - a similar free-kick 25 yards out a couple of minutes earlier had struck the defensive wall – but skipper Javier Faveral, already cautioned, didn't listen and gave Hendon another free-kick in a dangerous position.

There was no doubt who as to the taker was going to be because Joseph was standing alone behind the ball. The wall was carefully arranged, but was at least one man short because Joseph bent the ball around the line of defenders and just inside the near post. Huxter was no more than a spectator as Hendon snatched point which was the very least they deserved.