Hendon rose to fifth place in the Ryman League Premier Division, behind 4th-placed Hornchurch on goal difference only, after a 1-0 victory over strugglers Braintree Town at Claremont Road on Saturday.

There were four changes to the starting line-up following last week's disappointing defeat at Bracknell. In came on-loan central defender Marien Ifura (from QPR), Steve Forbes, Iain Duncan and Eugene Ofori, replacing Mark Cooper (suspended), Pat Gavin (flu), Dale Binns (injured) and Martin Randall (rested), while goalkeeper Dave King overcame a bout of flu to start between the posts.

In the second minute, joint-player-manager Dean Parratt curled a free-kick from the left wing which King alertly pushed away from angle of post and crossbar. It was a rare foray for Braintree, whose 28 goals from 28 games is the worst average in the division.

Ofori came close to opening the scoring for Hendon in the 5th minute, when he ran onto a through ball from Scott Cousins. The striker, however, didn't quite get the ball under control and he scuffed his shot, allowing Paul Rutherford to make a comfortable save.

Rutherford was called into action again when Andy Cook got a powerful head to a cross from Dean Brennan. However, a number of other opportunities died on the whistle of the referee who had a fervent belief, it appears, is that fans pay to watch him officiate rather than the two teams in action.

The only goal of the game came in the 38th minute. Cousins curled in a free-kick, which Cook rose highest to meet and headed towards the left post. OFORI nipped in with a flying header to divert the ball into the opposite corner.

After dominating the first half, but not creating many clear-cut opportunities, Hendon stepped up a few gears after the break. There wasn't quite the same domination as at Bracknell, but more than half a dozen good chances were spurned.

The best fell to Ifura, in the 58th minute. He was set up by Ofori and needed little more than a sidefoot to open his Hendon account. However, he went for power and swept the ball high over the crossbar.

With 20 minutes to go, Crace came on for Fabien Forde, who had struggled to make much of an impact on the game. Almost immediately, Brennan should have done better when presented with a clear shooting chance 8 yards out, but he failed to hit the target.

Crace almost made it a dream comeback in the 74th minute. He arrived late to meet a low cross but, at full stretch, he fired the ball a yard wide of the post with Rutherford well beaten.

Barely 60 seconds later, Forbes made a fine burst down the right side. He ghosted past a pair of defenders and fired in a shot that was so powerful that Rutherford blocked the ball with his face because he couldn't get his hands up quickly enough.

Crace then delivered a low teasing cross which Duncan did exceptionally well to reach before Steve Good. He got excellent contact on the ball but drove it inches over the bar.

When Braintree introduced Gary Elliott for Andrew Julius, they went to a 3-man attack. Hendon boss Dave Anderson responded by dropping Duncan into an orthodox right-back, moved Mark Burgess to left-back and left Ifura and Antony Howard as central defenders in a 4-man back line.

The effect was unnerving to Hendon fans, because the Greens immediately conceded the initiative to Iron, who forced a succession of corners. Given Hendon's complete domination of the previous half-hour, it would have been a travesty of justice if Braintree had got an equaliser.

Even so, Randall, who replaced Ofori as the game moved into injury time, almost got on the scoresheet when there was a late scramble in the Braintree penalty area. Rutherford, however, made a brave double save.

"We deserved to win by more than 1-0," said Mr Anderson, who went on to defend his late formation change by adding, "We really needed to win this game and as they went to a 3-man attack, I wanted to be sure we didn't throw the points away. The 3 points today were absolutely vital."