laremont Road asking the same question: how did my team fail to win this game?

Hendon fans will point to the fact that, in stoppage time alone, Ricci Crace blazed high over the crossbar from 6 yards out with the goal gaping and Andy Iga produced a miraculous kick-save to deny Rob Haworth. As for Hampton, well, without a Ryman League Premier Division victory in almost 5 months, they won't get a better chance, having led 2-0 at half-time and 3-1 with less than a quarter of an hour to go.

With Micky Woolner not fit, Hendon made one change from the starting line-up against Ford, Paul Towler taking his place. Onto the substitutes bench came Dale Binns and new signing Lee Endersby.

In the 6th minute, Hendon had big shouts for a penalty turned down as Eugene Ofori appeared to be pushed in the back by a Hampton defender when he tried to get onto a cross from Iain Duncan. Referee Mr M Darlow saw nothing wrong as Iga gathered the ball.

Three minutes later, Hampton had the lead. Ashley Sestanovich, being watched by a scout from Nationwide Conference club, shot from 25 yards, but had his effort deflected. It took a big bounce towards to David Hook, who came off his line to gather it. However, a second bounce took the ball away from him and former Hendon trialist Jesse HALL was left with a simple tap-in from 6 yards out.

Hendon weren't firing on all cylinders, but Hampton were at full stretch to keep out the Greens. Kieran Gallagher wasted a free kick from close to the penalty area and a couple of corners were delivered disappointingly by the same player.

Sestanovich was proving something of a thorn in Hendon's side. He made a fine run down the right wing and delivered a cross which was headed behind for a corner as Wayne Cort launched himself at the ball.

Then, in the 32nd minute, SESTANOVICH doubled the Beavers' lead from a 20-yard free-kick after Dudley Gardner's run had been stopped illegally. The most impressive thing about the curling effort was the way Sestanovich lifted the ball over the wall with barely any backlift.

From this point, things started to go wrong for Hampton. First, in the 35th minute, Tony Houghton talked his way into Mr Darlow's notebook for complaining too vociferously that a challenge on Darren Deegan had gone unpunished. Second, they escaped when a shot from inside their penalty area beat Iga, but hit the post and bounced over the foot of Ofori as he stretched to knock home the rebound.

In the 41st minute, Ofori jumped for a ball with Houghton and barged him in mid-air to concede a free-kick. Houghton, instead of taking the free-kick, lashed the ball out of the ground, presumably to waste some time. Mr Darlow checked with his assistant that it was Houghton who had committed this indiscretion and produced a second yellow card and the inevitable red.

Quite why the two officials were surrounded by 2 or 3 Hampton players, who let forth streams of abuse is surprising. The folly was all Houghton's and their invective should have been directed at him.

At the same time as Houghton was departing down the tunnel so Binns was entering the fray at the expense of Jon-Barrie Bates, who had a collected a knock on his leg. Binns immediately went onto the left wing, and it led a reshuffle with Paul Yates moving into central midfield and Gallagher switching flanks to the right side.

Hampton countered at half-time, withdrawing their most potent offensive weapon, Sestanovich, who had picked up an injury during the first half, and replacing him with the more defensive David Cross. It didn't help them much, because Hendon reduced the arrears inside the first 5 minutes of the period.

Crace showed commendable tenacity in challenging for a ball with Alan Inns after it was crossed in by Binns. Inns forced him back towards his own goal,but CRACE turned and fired in a low shot from an acute angle the flew inside Iga's near post. However good the shot was, Iga's positioning was certainly dubious.

Both teams made another change in the second five minutes of the period, Hampton's other goalscorer Hall being withdrawn in favour of Richard Thompson, while Hendon sent on Haworth for Gallagher, whose every mistake attracted a chorus of disapproval from supporters.

In the 63rd minute, a slip by Iga seemed offer a great chance for Crace to snatch the equaliser, but as he was about to reach the ball, a defender clattered into the back of him. Neither Mr Darlow, nor his assistant, who one would assume was in line with the incident, saw anything untoward. Crace, in his disbelief earned himself a yellow card for protesting at the non-decision.

Hendon fans were convinced it was only a matter of time before the equaliser arrived but, instead, the unthinkable happened. In the 73rd minute, Hampton from their only attack of note in the second half, regained their 2-goal lead. A needlessly conceded throw-in near to the corner flag was flicked across the penalty area and CORT lost both Mark Cooper and Steve Butler before slotting the ball home from a few yards out.

Immediately, Hendon brought on debutant Endersby for Towler, leaving the Dons with an old-fashioned 3-2-5 formation. It had the desired effect within a minute. Steve Forbes made a burst towards the penalty area, but an outstretched leg saw him go over.

Hampton were building their wall as ENDERSBY surveyed the situation and, with the referee's permission, curled the ball over the defence, wide of Iga and into the roof of the net at the angle of far post and crossbar. Endersby thus became the second Hendon player to score with his first touch for the club this season, and Hampton have been victims both times.

The drama was just beginning. Two loud appeals for penalties as the ball bounced off the arms of Hampton defenders were turned down by Mr Darlow. Both were probably correct decisions, although in both cases some referees would have construed the movement of the arm as being sufficient to penalise.

In the 83rd minute, another Iga error nearly led to Hendon's equaliser. He came for a downfield ball but didn't get to it as Haworth also jumped for it. The ball was bouncing towards the goal, but Deegan produced a magnificent goalline clearance to keep it out.

Ofori then wriggled his way past Deegan, ran along the goalline and fired in a shot that Iga smothered by his near post. Then, in the 89th minute, Hendon got a penalty. Haworth chased a ball more in hope than expectation of reaching it, but Chris Rose followed him.

The central defender got too close to Haworth and the substitute was brought down as Rose ran across him. Three Hampton players argued against the decision in vain, although, significantly, Rose was not one of them. Iga was then cautioned for time-wasting. All of this had no effect on ENDERSBY, who was calmness personified as he sent Iga the wrong way from the spot.

Hendon should have won the game in stoppage time. First, Endersby danced past two defenders and delivered a cross to Haworth just beyond the far post. As Iga went across his goal, Haworth headed the ball into the path of Crace 6 yards out, but instead of side-footing home the winner, he lashed the ball high over the bar.

Then, Iga produced a stunning save with his right foot to deny Haworth. The striker latched onto a loose ball and struck it to where Iga was coming from, but the former Hendon keeper somewhat redeemed earlier errors by somehow changing his feet and kicking the ball away for a corner.

Manager Dave Anderson was terse in his post match assessment. "It was our worst performance of the season," he said, "but the best spirit."