Hendon's six-match unbeaten run under manager Gary McCann came to an end at Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, on Tuesday night. A solitary goal midway through the second decided a close match, but if either side deserved maximum points then it was definitely Leyton, who held the upper hand for long spells, especially in the first half.

Jason O'Connor took over from the absent Steve McGrath, while James Burgess - free from suspension - earned an immediate recall in midfield at the expense of Eugene Ofori, a move which saw John Frendo return to a striking role while Ofori was on the subs bench.

Leyton forced the pace in the first half, backed by a strong wind, but they were rather wasteful when chances occurred. Manny Williams failed to take a number of half-chances that came his way while shots from open play were directed either directly at Dave King or missed the target.

Mark Sophocleous was the main creative force for Leyton, but he was kept in check fairly well by a tight midfield trio of Burgess, Dave Hunt and Danny Julienne. Unfortunately, that left Ross Pickett and Frendo very isolated up front, especially as neither James Parker nor Rob Courtnage were able to get forward with any regularity.

Julienne did wriggle his way through a couple of tackles to set up Frendo for a shot after 36 minutes, but the ball whistled just wide of James Hasell's left post. A couple of corners were dealt with competently - an area where the aerial presence of McGrath may well have caused more problems for the home defence.

In the 40th minute, a powerful low free-kick from Sophocleous was well saved by King, who got down well to the shot. What was more pleasing to see was that the goalkeeper was immediately surrounded by teammates ready to clear the ball if it had bounced clear.

Two minutes into the second half, Julienne was guilty of mistiming two tackles in almost instantaneous succession, both inside his own box, but Leyton's penalty appeals - both well merited - were turned down.

After an hour, it was Hendon's turn to be disappointed by the referee. A hopeful ball into the Leyton penalty area was dealt with unconvincingly and the clearance went high in the air. Frendo was underneath the ball as it came down, but before he could control the ball, Scott Houneyball had crashed into his back. It would have been the softest of penalties, but it was a very clear push and it was in the penalty area.

In the 65th minute, Pickett surprised Hasell with a rapid turn of foot and took the ball off the goalkeeper who, momentarily, appeared to grab unsuccessfully at the striker. However, Pickett was already on the wide edge of the penalty area and couldn't reach the ball before it went out of play. Three minutes later, Frendo worked an opening and fired a powerful shot that beat Hasell, but also the keeper's left upright, albeit by a matter of inches.

With 20 minutes to go, Ofori replaced Pickett, but the change had little bearing on the winning goal which followed seconds later. A Leyton throw-in down the left gave Sophocleous some space and, for once, no one was close enough to check his run, so Burgess was almost forced to bring him down as he turned towards the penalty area.

Sophocleous looked up and saw Hendon were slow to organise their defence so he wasted no time in delivering an accurate cross to beyond the far post. Standing there, all alone was Leli BAJADA and he had the simplest of tasks to head home what proved to be the winning goal.

Hendon looked for an immediate response and Julienne dragged a shot wide after getting into a good position. Then Hasell produced an excellent fingertip save to deny Frendo after Hunt had made a dangerous burst towards the edge of the Leyton box.

Having ridden out that storm, Leyton set out to waste as much time as they possibly could. Hendon brought on Danny Blanchett for O'Connor and Andy Sherry for Julienne in a bid to salvage a point but the home defence just about held firm. In stoppage time, Ren´ Street had a great chance to grab a goal when a corner was not cleared but, with a crowd of defenders between him and the goal, he had to aim high with his header. The effort, however, was just too high and the ball bounced on the top of the net.

"All good things must come to an end sometime," said a disappointed Mr McCann, "but I wasn't pleased with the way we lost today. I thought we had done did very well to close them down all evening. But we lost our concentration for a minute, conceded a free-kick and they made us pay."