Hendon moved up to third in the Ryman League Premier Division with a third consecutive victory, this time 3-1 over Harrow Borough, at Earlsmead, on Tuesday night.

However, the home club were left seething by the performance of the referee, who dismissed two Borough players, cautioned another and awarded Hendon a dubious penalty, while the Greens ended the night without a single booking.

Newcomer Anthony Robinson, a striker who has seen service at Kidderminster Harriers and, more recently Stourport Swifts, came into the squad on the subs' bench, replacing Usif Bangura in an otherwise unchanged squad.

The match started with the pitch in probably unplayable condition. A heavy rainstorm 40 minutes before kick-off left the pitch so slick players from both teams were slipping and sliding whenever they tried to turn.

The conditions also had a bearing on Hendon's opening goal in the 11th minute. A cross from Richard McDonagh should have been comfortably cleared by Perry Norman, but the former Hendon reserve slipped slightly and his off-balance clearance smashed into Dean Marney's face and fell to Eugene OFORI, who reacted quickly and squeezed a shot just inside Keita Karamoko's left post.

Harrow tried to hit back and another former Hendon man, Brian Haule, tried his luck with a 30-yard dipping drive that Dave King tipped over the crossbar. As the goalkeeper was a little way off his line, he took the safety-first view and conceded a corner, from which an unchallenged Norman headed wastefully over the crossbar.

In the 18th minute, Daniel Dyer went in late on Dave Nolan. Many referees would have shown Dyher a yellow card for the challenge, but Dyer and received only a lecture from the lenient man in black.

Hendon were in control of the game, but failed in the main to put efforts on target. In the 35th minute, a shot from Ofori was blocked and the rebound fell to Richard McDonagh, whose drive was brilliantly blocked by Karamoko.

As the second half got under way, the wind got up, blowing at Hendon's backs. It made things even harder for Borough, who were forced to defend in numbers with increasing desperation. It seemed only a matter of time before Hendon got their second goal.

Instead the game exploded. In the 60th minute, Dyer committed a third late challenge and the referee finally ran out of patience and produced a yellow card. He also advised the Borough skipper Marney to warn Dyer about losing his temper, but it proved to be in vain.

Two minutes later, a bad challenge by substitute Clinton Lamb on Wayne Carter led to a couple of Hendon players remonstrating with him. Dyer ran a long way and delivered a two-handed push in the back of one of the Hendon men, sending him to the ground. This inflamed matters and, by the time the referee and his assistants had discussed what they had seen, Dyer was shown a second yellow card, plus the red one, and Wayne Walters was also cautioned.

Seven minutes later, there was another inflammatory incident. This time the offender was Daniel McGonigle who stamped on a Hendon player's ankle. After the now almost obligatory square dance, the referee dismissed McGonigle, reducing Borough to nine players.

Full credit to the Harrow management, Dave Howell and Phil Gridelet, they withdrew a midfielder in Paul Hamer and sent on another attacker, Carl Hunt. It paid immediate dividends because in the 72nd minute, Lamb, Hunt and Haule combined to create an attack that finished with HAULE shooting home after the Hendon defence had failed in two attempts to clear the danger.

But the numerical advantage, and Harrow's almost suicidal defending, ensured the Greens would return with all three points. In the 78th minute, OFORI again reacted to a ricochet in the Harrow penalty area and his shot had just enough power to cross the line before Karamoko reached it.

Then, with two minutes of normal time remaining, Ofori outpaced Marney as the ball bounced towards the penalty area. Marney's desperate attempt to reach the ball succeeded only in bringing down Ofori. The referee immediately signalled a free-kick, saw where the incident occurred and upgraded the decision to a penalty.

Surrounded by Harrow defenders, convinced the foul had been out of the penalty area, the referee sought the advice of his assistant who confirmed the foul had taken place about a foot inside the area, "not even on the line," he said after the game.

After the long delay, Mark NICHOLLS stepped up and blasted the spot-kick beyond Karamoko's dive. There was still time for Ofori to shoot just wise and Robinson to be denied a debut goal by another smart save from Karamoko.

"I love being third in the table," said a happy Hendon manager Tony Choules. "I thought we showed great discipline and did a job tonight. We were magnificent.

"We are not the finished article just yet but if we can continue work hard we will get our just desserts."