Hendon advanced to the third qualifying round of the e.on-sponsored FA Cup with a superb 2-1 victory over Kingstonian at Vale Farm on Saturday. They did so coming from behind and were indebted to their three substitutes.

Following Tuesday night’s defeat at the hands of Margate, there were a number of changes to the starting line-up. In came James Parker, Yacine Hamada and Peter Dean at the expense of Pat O'Donnell, the injured James Bent and Harry Hunt, respectively.

Kingstonian opened brightly and they nearly took the lead after 11 minutes. James Reading, however, produced a magnificent save to keep out a 25-yard pile-driver from Bobby Traynor which looked destined for the top corner

Ks were denied for only five minutes. Hendon lost possession in midfield and with Craig Vargas out of position, having made himself available for a pass which was intercepted, Simon Huckle threaded a superb pass through the heart of the Hendon defence.

No one had tracked the run of Carl Wilson-Denis and the tall striker had a clear run at goal. Reading came off his line, but Wilson-Denis struck a neat shot past him.

In the 20th minute, Hamada had a chance to equalise, but his shot was too close to Luke Garrard, who made the save. A few minutes later, Mark Kirby missed with a header. Had he put it on target, he would probably have scored.

After 41 minutes, Huckle and Jamie Busby raced in to challenge for a loose ball. The players were utterly committed to the cause and their collision was not one for the faint-hearted.

It was an entirely honest attempt by both men to reach the ball first. Unfortunately for Hendon, it was Busby who came off worst. He stood up after the challenge but, as soon as he attempted to run, he collapsed back to the ground.

After a minute of treatment, he was led from the pitch and physio Mark Findley quickly signalled that the midfielder's involvement in the match was over. Casey Maclaren replaced him.

Within seconds of the change, Reading again came to Hendon's rescue. He was off his line very quickly to deny Traynor, who had made another incisive break down the middle, by diving at the forward's feet and smothering the ball.

If the first half had been Kingstonian's then the second period was definitely Hendon's. They attacked from the outset and the passing was much better. Peter Dean pulled the strings in midfield, while the industrious Maclaren brothers, Casey and Kevin, stifled the Kingstonian the attacking intentions of Des Boateng, Karl Beckford and Dean Lodge.

They were so successful that 12 minutes into the second half, Lodge was withdrawn in favour of themore defensive Chris Jolley. Almost immediately, as Kingstonian reorganised, Glenn Garner made a powerful run and unleashed a fierce drive which beat Garrard, but also the crossbar.

But Hendon were not to be denied two minutes later. Lodge, who had done some excellent tracking back in the first hour, was not on the pitch so when a diagonal ball into the penalty area found Casey Maclaren, there was no one to slow down his run or make a challenge.

Garrard tried to narrow the angle, but he was unable to stop the older Maclaren from scoring his first goal for nearly 10 months, most of which have been spent on the sidelines with a serious back problem. His joy was shared by teammates and fans alike.

The response from Kingstonian was very positive and they enjoyed a concerted spell of pressure. However, James Parker was absolutely outstanding at the heart of the Hendon defence, not only marshalling the back line, but also making a number of timely interventions. His absence with injury over the past few weeks has been keenly felt.

If the first hour had been very good, then the final 30 minutes were excellent. The late September sunshine sapped the players' energy, but it only made the game more open and both teams searched for what would almost certainly have proved to the winning goal.

The first Kingstonian substitution as well as helping to create the space for Casey Maclaren, also released Dave Diedhiou from his defensive responsibilities and he came into the game far more.

After 74 minutes, both teams replaced their exhausted No. 7s. Hamada was replaced by Lubomir Guentchev and Kingstonian brought on Rob Sheridan for Beckford.

Six minutes later, Boateng struck a fine drive which was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Reading. From the corner, Hendon cleared the ball downfield and Garner was presented with a chance to run at goal.

Garner's first touch wasn't the best and it made his angle for a shot more difficult. There was plenty of power in his effort, but the ball crashed into the side netting, the wrong side of the post from a Hendon perspective.

Almost immediately, Harry Hunt took over from Garner, the big frontman having run his blood to water. It proved another inspired substitution.

There had been no more clear goalscoring opportunities as the match moved into stoppage time, but Hendon then found their match-winners and neither had been on the pitch 20 minutes earlier. Guentchev ran onto a diagonal pass out of defence and skipped by Matt Gray and the covering Max Hustwick.

His touch was just a little strong, but recent Hendon trialist John Fletcher dithered for a second before realising that Guentchev might reach the ball and get into a dangerous position. The defender slid in and missed the ball by inches.

However, he didn't fail to make contact with Guentchev, who was sent tumbling a yard inside the left wing of the penalty area. The referee, who had been superb in charge of the game, had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot and, to be fair to the Kingstonian players, none of them protested.

Hunt was first to the ball and, much to the chagrin of Wayne O'Sullivan, took control of the situation, placing the ball on the spot. Judging by O'Sullivan's look at him, Hunt's immediately safety may well have been in jeopardy had he failed to convert the spot-kick.

Although Garrard guessed correctly, the power of Hunt's kick was too much and the goalkeeper couldn't make contact with the ball let alone save it. Hunt's character was shown to be really strong and his nerve equally so.

There were another two minutes of stoppage time to be endured by Hendon fans, but Kingstonian really didn't threaten the Hendon goal.

Hendon boss Gary McCann said, "We defended much better in the second half. It has been an area of the pitch where we have suffered recently. The return of James Parker was a big reason for this. He makes all the players around him look much better.

"I told Lubo that he was very unlucky not to be starting the game, but that he would certainly have a part to play. And it was proved right. Offensively we are going to give teams problems going forward."