2nd February is a day that has proven more pivotal than many in the club’s history and today’s look back begins in 1924 when a crowd of 3,000 packed into The Avenue Ground to watch a 2-2 draw with Bromley, Freddie Young and Cecil Wise scoring.

Five-years later and Sutton United were beaten 4-2 at Claremont Road in the Athenian League with a hat-trick from F Cooper and one from Harry Shearcroft and then in 1935 T Edwards netted twice along with George Bucci as Golders Green bowed out of the Middlesex Senior Cup at the hands of London Caledonians 4-3.

In 1946 as the Hungarian Republic was proclaimed, Leyton won an Amateur Cup tie at Claremont Road 3-1, Melvyn Griffiths with the consolation. Six years later a 1952 London Senior Cup tie against Corinthian Casuals at Claremont Road ended 2-1 with Roy Stroud scoring twice to take the Greens through to the next round.
1957 saw one club record set and another equalled as the Greens beat Wingate 13-1 in a Middlesex Senior Cup tie at Claremont Road. Tommy Lawrence grabbed a record-equalling 5-goals whilst Miles Spector netted four. Jackie Rawlings helped himself to a brace whilst Peter Terry and Douglas Orr had to make do with one each.

That win had seen the Greens’ allocation of goals used up for their 1974 Amateur Cup tie with Tilbury which ended 0-0 in the club’s first away match to occur on 2nd February. It was back home in 1980 as Carshalton Athletic were beaten 3-1 in the Isthmian League with Jim Hendrick, Charlie Richardson and Devon Gayle, father of current Newcastle striker Dwight, on target.

The club’s second away match on 2nd February ended in defeat in 1985 as Hayes won a league match 3-1 Martin Coates with the Hendon goal and six-years later in 1991 Barking came to Claremont Road and left with the only goal of the game and the three points.

Two-years on in 1993, on the same day that Vaclav Havel become the first president of the Czech Republic following the split with Slovakia, Leo Fortune-West scored twice and Barry Blackman the other in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Yeading and then in 1999 Paul Whitmarsh came off the bench to score twice in a Middlesex Senior Cup tie at Uxbridge to give the Greens a 2-1 win.

In 2002 an oft-delayed FA Trophy replay against Cambridge City finally took place, nominally at home but staged at St Albans City, two goals from Martin Randall – his first for the club – took the Greens through.

Three years later, two days after the departure of Gary Farrell, new manager Gary McCann was appointed by Ivor Arbiter with the task of keeping Hendon in the division. This began the longest tenure to date of any Hendon manager, nearly 13½ years in length.

A 2008 visit to Bridge Avenue to play AFC Hornchurch ended in disappointment as the Urchins won 1-0 and five-years later Sean Sonner and Lee Angol scored the goals as the Greens beat Carshalton Athletic 2-1 at Colston Avenue.

We end in 2019, two years ago today, when the mini-revival under Jimmy Gray continued with a third consecutive draw, albeit a twelfth match without a win, as Steve Claridge’s Salisbury side were pegged back late on by a Connor Calcutt equaliser, Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick having earlier scored for the Greens.

Of 17 matches on 2nd February, just under half have been won (8). Four have ended drawn and five in defeats. 43 goals have been scored and 26 conceded.