Hendon climbed one place up the Ryman League Premier Division table, to 5th, but to within 2 points of 2nd place following their facile 3-0 defeat of Enfield at Claremont Road on Saturday. Three goals in 9 minutes around the middle of the first half took all the suspense out of the game and Hendon held on with little discomfort after the interval.

For the last quarter of the 20th century, Hendon came off distinctly second best in clashes with the Es, but the past 3 seasons have seen the mantle pass back to the Greens. In 6 Ryman League encounters since the start of the 2000-01 season, Hendon have collected 16 points and have scored 16 goals without reply.

Following last week's disappointing draw at Chesham, Hendon made a number of changes, both personnel and positional, as Kieran Gallagher, Paul Yates and Eugene Ofori came into the side, with Jon-Barrie Bates, Jamie Burgess and Ricci Crace dropping to the subs' bench alongside Warren Kelly and fit-again Rob Haworth.

In the 3rd minute, Hendon should have taken the lead when Martin Randall was set up following good work on the right side by Yates and Micky Woolner. His shot flew over Michael Kalli's crossbar. Randall also narrowly missed the target when he tried a second shot, but had Ofori unmarked and probably in a better position.

It wasn't all one-way traffic and Enfield almost scored in the 11th minute. Some sloppy defending left Demba Traore all alone 10 yards from goal. Gallagher tried to get back to tackle him, but Traore shot high over David Hook's crossbar.

After 14 minutes, there was a moment of priceless comedy. Referee Mr S Symonds ran backwards after making a decisions, but tripped over his own feet and fell in an untidy heap on his back. In the process, his yellow card fell out of his pocket, but he was unaware of this as he was helped gingerly to his feet. Hendon skipper Paul Towler took advantage of the official's predicament and picked up the card for Mr Symonds and, in the prescribed FIFA manner, showed it to him as if he was handing out a booking.

Unfortunately, neither of the photographers attending the match snapped the incident, which a few years ago earned Paul Gascoigne an official caution. And it was also missed by the referee, who had his back to Towler for the 10 or so seconds the card was brandished at him.

Four minutes later, Hendon took the lead. A ball out of defence invited Ofori to challenge Lee Doherty for possession and the Hendon man won out, using his strength and speed. He had a clear run at goal and, having drawn Kalli out of position, Ofori slid the ball across the 6-yard box into the path of RANDALL, who had a simple tap-in.

Two minutes later, Ofori scored without much assistance. Iain Duncan knocked a pass towards the striker, who had to leap to control the ball. OFORI was waiting for a challenge as the ball came down, but none was forthcoming, so he floated a shot from 20 yards that went over the flat-footed Kalli, struck the underside of the crossbar and dropped into the net.

Enfield knew they had to score the next goal if they were to have any hope of getting something out of the game and, in the 24th minute, they almost got it. Paul Armstrong tried a shot from just outside the penalty area that may have taken a slight deflection as it passed through a forest of legs. However, Hook did brilliantly to palm the ball out for a corner as he plunged low to his right.

The goal of the game arrived in the 27th minute and it was Ofori who was again the main provider. Another raid down the right side took him towards the penalty area and as a defender came to close him down, Ofori sent a short pass to Yates. Yates quickly knocked the ball into the path of RANDALL, who rifled a shot just inside the far post.

At 3-0 up, Hendon were in complete control and they could have added to their lead before the break, but missed a couple of chances. For Enfield's overmatched defence, it was a matter of damage limitation before half-time, and it was they who were the happier to hear the half-time whistle.

There is little that can be said about a very disappointing second half. Hendon, with the cushion of a 3-goal lead, were happy to sit back and let Enfield attack. Mark Cooper and Steve Butler in the middle and Woolner and Duncan at full-back, ensured that Hook was well-protected and for all of Enfield's possession, there were very few even half-chances for the lead to be reduced.

On a rare foray into the Enfield half, Hendon should have extended their lead. Steve Forbes led the way. He passed to Randall, who spotted an unmarked Gallagher at the far post. Almost any shot on target would have scored, but Gallagher went for power over placement and blasted the ball over the bar.

The introduction of Haworth and Crace for Randall and Ofori, respectively, didn't produce any more goals, much to the frustration of Hendon's fans. Having smelled blood in the first half, they felt disappointment at being deprived of watching a kill. How things have changed. A few years ago a 3-0 win over Enfield would have been one of the season's highlights.

Manager Dave Anderson put things in perspective, saying, "The important thing was to win the game and we did that in the first half. Although we weren't great in the second half, we did keep a clean sheet and that was big."