Hendon made it three Ryman League Premier Division matches undefeated and with three clean sheets as they played out an often fractious stalemate against Tonbridge Angels at Vale Farm on Saturday. The result was undoubtedly the correct one and it lifted both clubs a little further away from the drop zone.

The same 11 who started against Wealdstone in the 2-0 victory at Wealdstone on Tuesday started again, though James Reading was named to the bench in place of Lubomir Guentchev.

And, as with Tuesday night, the Greens could have found themselves behind in the opening ten minutes. This time, however, barely 60 seconds had elapsed when Tonbridge fashioned a great opening. James Parker mishit a clearance which bounced past Craig Vargas.

The ball fell to Sam Long, who took far too long to decide whether to shoot or pass and the ball to Jamie Cade was definitely the wrong option. Cade's effort beat Berkley Laurencin but was just off target.

In the fifth minute, a superb passing move down the right side opened up the Hendon defence. Long and Cade combined well and they put in Lee Minshull, who was barely a dozen yards out, just outside the line of the right upright.

Minshull, instead of going for the far post, tried to squeeze the ball inside the near post and failed. The ball struck the outside of the post and nestled in the side-netting. The Angels continued to threaten over the next 15 or so minutes, but never came as close to scoring as they had already done.

Hendon, meanwhile struggled to come to terms with a very difficult pitch, one which was not conducive to the Greens' preferred style of play. A change in tactics was required and the instructions were quickly relayed to the players. It worked and although Hendon weren't as pretty as the management team may have liked, they didn't looking like conceding a goal every time Tonbridge attacked.

Dave Diedhiou was cautioned after 25 minutes for a challenge on Jon Heath as the pair ran for a loose ball. The Tonbridge player just got there first and Diedhiou's contact with Heath left the Angels defender with an injured shoulder. He was replaced by Tom Bryant.

The first on-target effort from Hendon came after 30 minutes, a 20-yard drive from Jamie Busby which went straight into the arms of Lee Worgan.

An off-the-ball challenge by Phil Starkey on Casey Maclaren resulted in the defender becoming the second player to be cautioned and, before half-time, the referee added the names of Busby and Minshull to the list.

Seven minutes into the second half, Hendon should have been awarded a penalty when Maclaren was bundled over by Liam Harwood. The ball fell to Peter Dean, who made space for himself and struck a drive which hit the post with Worgan a static spectator. As Hendon didn't score from the move, a case could be made that they didn't get a good advantage and the penalty should then have been awarded.

The simmering nastiness finally boiled over after 59 minutes. Maclaren, Bryant, Dean and Sonny Miles all contested a ball on the ground and the referee should have stopped play to restart with a drop-ball. He dithered, then watched as Bryant stood on Maclaren.

The Hendon player reacted, rising to his feet and sticking his head into the chest of the Angels substitute. It wasn't a butt, but it was a violent act and he should have been red-carded, as should Bryant for the stamp. The referee and his assistant spent a good 15 seconds discussing the incident before the referee showed both players yellow cards.

Thirty seconds later, Bryant stamped on Anthony Thomas - this time apparently unseen by the refereee - but Dean's retaliation earned him a yellow card. Thomas, who showed the referee the hole in his sock from the challenge, later became the fifth Hendon man to see yellow. Tonbridge finished with four cautions, but the match at least ended with 22 men on the pitch.

As the game progressed, Hendon began to exert control, but Harwood and Miles were too strong for Thomas and Maclaren. Busby and Maclaren were then a little fortunate to receive final warnings after tackles which, although not particularly bad, had resulted in yellow cards earlier in the match for other players.

Adam Burchell was the second substitute used by Tonbridge, replacing the rather anonymous Kirk Watts, and he brightened up the Angels, though Parker and Vargas more than had the better of Paul Booth and Cade. A free-kick just outside the penalty was Tonbridge's best chance for a winner, but Laurencin made a comfortable catch from Long's effort.

When Hendon were awarded a free-kick in an equally dangerous position, Scott Cousins failed to beat the wall. The rebound fell to Lee O'Leary, who was just off target.

The Greens introduced Belal Aite-Ouakrim with eight minutes of normal time remaining, but he got hurt within seconds of coming on. Although he did return after a couple of minutes, Hendon were down to 10 men at a crucial time. Aite-Ouakrim did look dangerous when he got the ball and maybe if he had been given 20 or so minutes, might have turned the game Hendon's way.

As it was, the last chance came with two minutes of normal time remaining. It fell to James Burgess, who struck an excellent 25-yard drive towards the bottom corner. Worgan produced a save of equal quality and pushed the ball away for a corner.

When the danger had been cleared, Worgan laughed at the reminder that a less powerful drive had struck a divot and beaten him at Longmead Stadium earlier in the season.

Hendon manager Gary McCann said, "We didn't start well and it was nearly our undoing. The pitch didn't help us but I wasn't disappointed to go in at half-time with a 0-0 score.

"I thought we were unlucky not to win the game in the second half but, overall, a draw was a fair reflection of the game. Tonbridge had the first half and we had the second and neither did enough to win the game or too little to lose it."