Hendon manager Gary McCann could not hide his pleasure with the defeat of Redbridge saying "It seems to be a cup I have a real affinity with, reaching the final seven times. That is quite an achievement in any competition.

"We may have had a slightly less difficult path to the final this year than in previous competitions, but we can only beat who ever is in front of us and we did that. Remember Redbridge had beaten Wingate & Finchley in the quarter-finals.

"What pleased me most was the fact that we finished the match with five players between 16 and 19 years old on the pitch. We have got a lot of players who were unavailable for one reason or another and the youngsters have stepped up.

"It was a very tough game, on a difficult pitch, but the pitch probably was not more difficult that those we have played on in recent weeks. We have had to adapt and I think we did that.

"The key moment in the game when Joe Wright made that save from Carlos Espirito-Santo. It was one of the best he has made this season and it was doubly important because it not only kept the game at 0-0 but also I am not sure how we would have reacted to going behind. Instead, a few minutes later we took the lead.

"But we also had lots of good moments and passages of play. And we did create lots of good chances, which we should have taken.

"It is really pleasing that we have reached the cup final and it will be a satisfying finish to what has been a very difficult season, stretching back to almost the last kick of last season."