Hendon won their fourth game in six matches under manager Gary McCann when the Greens sneaked past Kingstonian at Claremont Road on Saturday afternoon. Although Mr McCann didn't feel Hendon were lucky victors, the fact that the only goal came on a mishit after the referee had diverted the ball straight to the scorer and Ks hit the bar after six seconds gives weight to dissenters.

Gary Meakin was absent suffering from flu, but Eugene Ofori was fit again after his car crash the previous Friday evening. The former was replaced by Rob Courtnage, himself just back from injury, while Jason O'Connor made way for the striker. James Parker switched wings to accommodate Courtnage.

The match had the most dramatic start. Kingstonian's long kick-off was headed away by Dean Coppard, but the ball fell to Giles Cloke, who hit the ball first time. It was a stunning strike, which Dave King did brilliantly to tip against the crossbar.

Although the keeper didn't actually touch the ball, because the assistant referee gave a corner, there can have been no other possible intervention by a Hendon player. From the corner, King made another save, this time from Martyn Lee.

In the 17th minute, King was forced into more action as another long-range drive, this time from Robert Paris, was put on target. The goalkeeper was not unduly troubled, but it was clear that the basement dwellers were giving it a real go. What they lacked was a clinical finisher and a bit of composure in front of goal.

It took more than half an hour for Hendon to launch an attack of note, but kicking into the wind proved a big handicap. However, once they found a way to get past the Ks defence, they looked dangerous on a number of occasions.

After 35 minutes, a cross from Pickett was just beyond Ofori, but Richard Taylor still had no need to push Ofori in the back. The referee told Mr McCann as they walked towards their respective dressing rooms at half-time, that if Ofori or any other Hendon players had appealed for a penalty, he may well have awarded one.

In the 39th minute, a through ball from Danny Julienne invited Ofori to run behind the back line. He succeeded in reaching the ball, but Andy Iga was quickly off his line and Ofori, under pressure from the goalkeeper, rolled the ball inches wide of the post.

First half stoppage time saw both team going close to opening the scoring. First Phil Ruggles glanced a header from a corner just wide of King's far post. Then, from a Hendon free-kick, René Street headed down for Ofori and Iga made a save at the third attempt with three Hendon players looking for a loose ball to knock in.

Hendon's winner came in the 54th minute and there was more than a stroke of luck to it. First Dave Hunt broke towards the penalty area, but his attempted cross never got off the ground it struck the referee on the foot.

How far it was diverted is a moot point, the spin he imparted by his inadvertent deflection meant PICKETT's sweeping shot was badly mistimed. The outcome could not have been better because the ball ballooned in the air and, as Iga back-pedalled desperately, it dropped just in front of the crossbar and bounced into the roof of the net.

Hendon should have been awarded a penalty for the second time after 60 minutes. A run from John Frendo was followed by a weak shot, but he was having his shirt pulled by Paris.

King produced another good save in the 72nd minute, denying Dave Timothy an equaliser and, as the game moved into its latter stages it became rather fractious. Hunt and Steve McGrath were booked for Hendon, while too much complaining from Cloke resulted in his caution.

Mr McCann said, "I thought we contained them quite well. We know our team can play a lot better, but it's the sign of a decent team that we can not play well and still churn out victories. I think we will be safe with one or two more victories.

"On a good day, Eugene Ofori could have scored three or four goals today. But the ball is just not running for him at the moment. He needs one to hit him on the backside and go in just to get his confidence back."