Hendon manager Gary McCann didn't pull any punches when reflecting on Saturday's draw against Merstham. He said, "I am disappointed to have dropped two points. The two goals we conceded on Saturday were very poor defensively. That said, we did come back well and deservedly got a second goal.

"On the whole, I thought we were the better side, but we displayed frailty when they scored and that five mad minutes after nearly cost us the game. It was the only time in the 90 minutes that they looked like getting anything and I can't think of more than one other save which Melvin had to make.

"We created enough chances to win the game and their goalkeeper pulled off a number of good saves Overall, however, our approach play was lacking quality more often than not. Too many players are taking the wrong options in offensive areas of the pitch..

"We are now ten games into the season. It has been a very difficult start with all the disruptions and we have struggled to overcome them.

"It is a sign of where we are at, at the moment. I think we are far from being the finished article and very much still a work in progress."