Hendon, two-time defending Middlesex Senior Cup holders, made it three consecutive finals with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Southall at Chesham United's Meadow Ground on Wednesday night. By strange coincidence, it was the same result as when the two teams last met, 19 years earlier, when Hendon's top scorer bagged both goals - albeit this time it was without extra time.

The Greens will face the winner of this week's Bedfont v Uxbridge semi-final at Yeading on Easter Monday.

The teams entered the game in similar league positions: having played two or three more games than the leaders and trailing by 20 points. But the two division gap in status between Hendon and Southall was not really evident, especially in the final quarter, when the Fowlers asked some serious questions of a full-strength Greens team.

Maz Ifura and Dale Binns came into the side at the expense of the injured Mark Cooper and Dwayne Plummer, respectively, while Iain Duncan, back from suspension, regained his place at Dave Hunt's expense.

Hendon started brightly and it was no surprise when they took the lead in the 11th minute. Southall failed to clear a corner and Jon-Barrie Bates nodded a header over the defence and Eugene Ofori was quickest to react. Ali Koro Samba was quickly off his line, but OFORI knocked the ball past him with great confidence.

Buoyed by the goal, Hendon went looking for more, but the final touch or the ball into the penalty area frequently was not good enough and Southall were able to weather the storm. For 40 minutes, they did little to threaten the Hendon goal and Dave King was comfortable dealing with what few crosses came his way.

Samba rode his luck a little. Twice the ball was banged into his net as the whistle blew for a foul against him as he tried to reach corners. Referee Matthew Downey was excessive in his protection of the goalkeeper, especially when the custodian was at full stretch as he barged into Andy Cook, who was jumping vertically.

Binns, in the unusual position of playing a free role behind Ricci Crace and Ofori, as opposed to his regular left wing job, didn't have quite the same impact, but he did work two good shooting chances for himself. Unfortunately, he failed to hit the target on either occasion.

Just before half-time, Hendon had an escape when a Southall raid down the left wing ended with a driven cross from Andre Robinson which neither Jerry Moses nor Alpha Bangura could reach. A touch from either would surely have brought an equaliser.

It seems that every game he does must have a "Matthew Downey Moment", an incident that proves the Hounslow official is, quite simply, out of his depth refereeing at this level. Wednesday's Matthew Downey Moment came in the opening minute of the second half.

Scott Cousins came off the left touchline, moving towards the penalty area. He was stopped by a foul by Keiron Chambers or Ryan DaCosta, who were both snapping at his heels. However, the elbow that followed was definitely from DaCosta and it caught Cousins on the jaw, leaving him in great discomfort until the following day.

Mr Downey held a commission of enquiry into the incident. There were five red and white shirted witnesses for the defence, leaving Mr Downey unsure whether Cousins' assailant was DaCosta or Chambers. Eventually, he called Chambers to him and asked, "Did you elbow him?" Chambers responded, "Did you see me elbow him?"

After a long lecture, Mr Downey pulled out his notebook but, before issuing a caution, he took further advice, this time from his assistant 35 yards downfield. With this new evidence, DaCosta was summoned and asked to turn to show his shirt-number three times before Mr Downey was satisfied he had the right man. Incredibly, the result was a yellow card and not a red.

The punishment on Southall was much more severe. The free-kick was cleared to the edge of the penalty area where Bates was waiting and he floated the ball back into the penalty area. It fell to OFORI, who again finished with aplomb.

In the 58th minute, Hendon should have had a penalty and Chris Barrett should have been dismissed when Ifura won a header from a Cousins corner and the ball was blocked on the line by Barrett's arm. Although the defender knew nothing about his save, it was clear he had stopped a clear goalscoring opportunity. Mr Downey, and his assistant, were both unsighted so Southall and Barrett escaped.

Hendon continued to press, but Samba and inaccurate shooting ensured the lead was not stretched further. In fact, Southall finished strongly and Mark Burgess, Steve Butler and Ifura had to work hard with the Fowlers' willing running.

Pat Gavin and Andre Delisser replaced Crace and Binns, respectively, and both failed to take chances to score. At the other end, King produced a couple of fine saves to deny Bangura and Moses a goal that the Fowlers' efforts richly deserved.

"We had to be right tonight," said manager Dave Anderson, "and I stressed to the players that this was not going to be an easy game. We were spot on and I am delighted that we have reached the Cup Final for the third straight season."