Hendon ended their run of five successive Ryman League defeats with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Dover Athletic at the Crabble on Saturday afternoon. The match was far from pretty, but the result, in Hendon's eyes at least, was beautiful, lifting the Greens to within a point of tenth place in the table.

Once again, the team was much changed from the previous one. Danny Butler, Mark Nicholls and Eugene Ofori returned after suspension, Danny Blanchett got his first start and Jason O'Connor made his debut after joining from Heybridge Swifts, having previously seen service with AFC Bournemouth, North Greenford and Hayes. Absent were Rene Street, Ross Pickett, John Frendo, Richard McDonagh and Rob Courtnage.

Dover, like Hendon, made a number of changes to their line-up as they strive to move out of the relegation zone. But manager Steve Browne has a mighty task on his hands judging by the way his charges approached this game. Even though the club's immediate future, off the field, looks more settled than for some while, the team finds themselves sitting 11 points adrift in the relegation zone.

Chances were few and far between on a difficult afternoon. A persistent drizzle was driven by a swirling wind, making life for both goalkeepers hazardous at the very least. Dave King was able to get good distance in the first half with his kicks while Dominique Jean-Zepharin sprayed the ball over the place.

The only goal of the game came in the 23rd minute, and was the result of poor defending from the home team. A corner was needlessly conceded by Dean Palmer on the Hendon left. Nicholls delivered a teasing ball that Ofori met with a looping header.

Jean-Zepharin was beaten by the header, but watched it bounce off the goalframe and go away from the target. He was, however, a little slower than Nicholls to react to the situation with the result that the striker was in control of the ball as the keeper came out.

Off-balance, Jean-Zepharin could do no more than paw Nicholls to the ground, leaving the referee with the easiest of decisions to point to the penalty spot. He was also probably correct in not producing a red card, because a couple of defenders had got back to the goalline so combined with the acute angle Nicholls would have to have shot from, it was not the clear goalscoring opportunity the laws demand for a dismissal.

Nicholls picked himself up from the ground, placed the ball on the spot and confidently sent Jean-Zepharin the wrong way with the penalty kick.

After half an hour, James Burgess and former Hendon man Warren Ryan were involved in a melee just outside the Hendon penalty area after the former had been caught in possession and committed a foul trying to retrieve the situation. The referee was possibly lenient in showing both only a yellow card. From the free-kick, King produced a brilliant save to deny Jude Sterling a goal.

Just before half-time, Dover had to reshuffle their defence when Lee Shearer injured himself clearing a ball. While they were reorganizing, Hendon almost struck again, but this time Ofori was inches off target following good approach play by Dave Nolan.

A second goal would have given the defence a little bit of breathing space, something that became very obvious in first-half stoppage time. Byron Bubb's low cross invited Chris Wright to finish, but he showed a complete lack of composure and blasted the ball high over the crossbar - and the stand behind the goal into the bargain.

The less said about the second half the better. It was desperate fare on a slippery pitch with the weather conditions never better than abysmal.

Dover enjoyed plenty of possession but the delivery of crosses from both wings was lamentable. Hendon didn't help themselves by getting caught delaying passes out of defence too long, but the paucity of quality in attack meant that although King was busy, he rarely had to do anything remotely exceptional.

Hendon had just one attack of note in the second half and Jean-Zepharin made a fine low save to keep out an 81st minute shot from Nicholls. By this time, Gary Meakin had replaced Blanchett, giving further evidence of Hendon's unwillingness to overcommit in attack.

In the 89th minute, the home fans and players berated the referee after he had awarded them a free-kick just outside the Hendon penalty area. The sliding challenge was careless, but the ball was won. However, it took place inside the box. The free-kick caused inconvenience only to those fans standing at the back of the terraces.

Then, in stoppage time, from a left-wing corner, Hendon had their biggest escape when a glancing header beat King, but struck the outside of the keeper's left upright and bounced behind the line for a goal-kick.

Delighted Hendon manager Gary Farrell said, "Thank heavens for that. It's a new year and we are thinking about the future. Hopefully this result will be a springboard for 2005.

"It was a workmanlike performance and I thought we were well-organised defensively. Sometimes it is about getting a result without being pretty. I must mention the new lad, Jason O'Connor - I thought he was tremendous on his debut. I had two other youngsters on the bench - James Morrison (who came on for Nicholls for the last few minutes) and Sean Hillier, both from Brentford, and I hope they will be able to contribute too."