Hendon climbed five places up the Ryman League Premier Division table, to the relative anonymity of 13th place, with a 1-0 victory over Windsor & Eton at Stag Meadow on Saturday afternoon. Although they remain only three points off the drop zone, they are playing a with a grit and determination that has lifted the spirit at the club.

Manager Gary McCann has, in three matches in charge, collected more League points - seven - than his predecessor Gary Farrell obtained in his three-month tenure - six and the Greens have kept consecutive League clean sheets for the first time this season. This is quite a turnaround, given that Hendon had conceded 46 goals in December and January.

Continuity has also played a part and the only change to the team on Saturday was returning centre-half Steve McGrath taking the place of Anthony Clark on the substitutes' bench. The 36-year-old began his 20-year football odyssey in Hendon's reserves, before playing for - in no particular order - Yeading, Enfield, Yeovil, Aldershot, Hastings, Wembley, Staines and Aylesbury.

It would be an outright lie to describe this game as anything but a dour struggle, with perspiration far outweighing inspiration. That being said, the decisive moment was like finding the Koh-I-Noor diamond in a pawnshop. John Frendo's curling 22-yard free-kick leaving Moroccan international goalkeeper Chuck Martini no more than a spectator.

Hendon's travelling band of supporters made up more than a half of the crowd on a bitterly cold afternoon and they almost had something to cheer about as early as the ninth minute. Gary Meakin fired a powerful shot which Martini did well to parry. The ball went straight at Frendo, but at too great a speed for the forward to be able to get any direction on his header and the ball went over the bar.

Windsor had the slope in their favour in the first half, but their tactic of feeding the ball to Symon James on the left wing was a flawed one, because he rarely got the better of Meakin and when he get past him, invariably wasted possession.

The Royalists had claims for a penalty turned down after 34 minutes when Dave King sent Lee Holsgrove to the ground, but the referee ruled the goalkeeper had played the ball first. Dominic White then shot wastefully wide from a good position.

Hendon should have had a penalty of their own in the 37th minute when Martini gathered a corner, stepped backwards and collided with Rene Street who was arriving at the far post. Martini reacted by pushing the Hendon skipper with one hand whilst holding the ball with the other, but the referee, who spoke to both players allowed play to continue.

Half-time was a merciful release from the drudgery of the first half, but the second period didn't offer much more in terms of entertainment. It looked as if Hendon would be satisfied with a point, leaving Frendo and Eugene Ofori to fight for scraps in attack. The pair worked tirelessly but rarely looked like getting any reward for their efforts.

Then, in the 70th minute, it all changed. Tilbury stumbled as Ofori knocked the ball behind him and, as he fell, inadvertently brought down the Hendon striker. Amazingly he was cautioned for the foul although their was neither intent nor malice.

Richard McDonagh, who had just replaced Meakin, Frendo and Parker stood discussing the plans for the free-kick, before FRENDO took two steps forward and struck the ball with his left foot. The ball went a yard above and three yards wide of the wall guarding the near post before bending perfectly just inside the upright. Martini could do no more than watch the ball as it entered the goal and he stood, shaking his head at the perfection of the strike.

Windsor had to chase the game, but they lacked the imagination to find away past the Hendon rearguard, where Street, Dean Coppard and Jason O'Connor were magnificent. James Burgess, filling in for Meakin, and Parker stopped most of the forays out wide, while Dave Hunt, Danny Julienne and McDonagh broke up the midfield.

Three times Windsor fans and players vainly pleaded with Mr Smith to give them a penalty, one for a push, another after a perfect tackle by O'Connor had stopped James in his tracks and the third for handball. In the last minute of normal time, a rogue bounce on the uneven pitch caused King to drop the ball. In the resulting scramble, Hendon defended as if their lives defended upon it, throwing themselves in front of shots to block them, before King fell on the ball.

Both he and Lee Holsgrove required treatment before play could resume. Hendon also brought on Ross Pickett and Joe Nartey to stretch the Windsor defence a bit and cause them to be more defensive. It allowed the Greens to run out time with growing confidence.

"It was going to take something special to win the game," admitted Mr McCann, "and it was a special free-kick from Frendo that did so. It was a really dogged performance and the players really put their bodies on the line for the team. I am delighted with them and the result."