The FA Cup returns to SJP as Hendon will play host to Brighton local and fellow Isthmian League side Whitehawk this Saturday, 31/08/2024. - by Jake Osborn and Felix Houseman

It's been a mixed start to the season for both sides, with Hendon arguably having had the stronger first five games.

Whitehawk secured their first point of the season in the third match of the campaign with an impressive 3-3 draw away at Dulwich. The following weekend, they followed it up with their first win at home to Bowers & Pitsea. Their last match against top-of-the-table Lewes away was their third loss of the season.

Hendon, meanwhile, played both the teams mentioned above early on, Bowers being defeated at home by the same 2-1 margin our guests secured their win, and only a very late penalty call giving Dulwich their 2-1 victory at Champion Hill. Lee Allinson's Dons have bounced back, though, with 7 points from the last 3 games, the point coming on the road away to Bognor Regis Town, the most recently their first clean sheet while securing a 2-0 victory this Bank Holiday Monday against Cheshunt.

But as many know, with the season not even out of August yet, these early results still don't give a clear indication as to what to expect, and as previous encounters between the two have also shown, looks can be deceiving.

The sides have faced each other only 4 times in recent memory. The first was in this competition as Hendon secured a 2-1 victory in the 3rd qualifying round away at The Enclosed Ground in 2010. The sides would not meet again until the 12/13 season, which would see Whitehawk secure the league by 8 points, though only 2 of those points came from Hendon. A 0-0 draw in Brighton and a 1-1 draw in London left little between these two sides on those days, though Hendon only managed 10th that season.

The most recent meeting in 2019 will arguably be one Hendon fans will hope to forget, Whitehawk fans hope to replicate, and any neutrals & groundhoppers shall want to see regardless of who it benefits. In lashing rain, as if Poseidon came to help this coastal club, Hendon slumped to a devastating 4-1 loss to a side below them in the pyramid. Whitehawk were then plying their trade in the Isthmian South East while Hendon had begun their Southern Premier League tour the season before, the same season that saw Whitehawk suffer back-to-back relegations from Conference South and through the Isthmian Premier. The shock result saw Hendon rather unceremoniously dumped out of the FA Trophy at the first hurdle.

However, five years later, both sides are now back in the Isthmian; the teams look very different from those that have come before, with nearly entire squad changes when comparing the 2019 team sheets with the most recent matches. Will we be seeing another goal fest and cup classic? The only way to find out is by being there.

Hendon v Whitehawk - The Emirates FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round
Silver Jubilee Park, home of Hendon FC

Silver Jubilee Park

Townsend Lane

Kingsbury

London

NW9 7NE

Admission Prices 2024/25

Adult - £12

Concession - £8

Student (with valid NUS) - £1

Under 18 - £1