Hendon have only themselves to blame for slipping two places down the Ryman League Premier Division table - to 6th - as they failed to overcome Chesham United at The Meadow on Saturday. At least 10 good chances were spurned and a very lucky equaliser meant the Greens had to accept a share of the spoils.

The same 11 as started against Bognor Regis Town the previous Saturday was announced for this game, with the only change being Jaymie Kelly taking Dale Binns' place on the bench as the latter got a lengthy run-out for the Reserves.

A strong wind blew up the hill, into Hendon's faces, in the first half and it meant that they were forced into a defensive mode in the opening 10 minutes. David Hook, however, had no direct shots to deal with.

When Hendon finally got to passing the ball, they caused problems for the Chesham defence. First, in the 12th minute, a run by Martin Randall set up Ricci Crace, but a defender did just enough to slow the pass and it gave Delroy Preddie the chance to race off his line and block Crace's shot with his legs.

Four minutes later, Crace leapt well and headed a left wing cross goalwards. Preddie had started to commit towards the far post, but he reacted quickly enough to make a sprawling save by the near upright.

At the other end, Hook was forced into action twice in 6 minutes, first making a good save to deny Darren Hay. He did much better with the second opportunity, leaping acrobaticaly to palm over a free-kick that seemed destined for the top corner.

In the 26th minute, Crace completed his hat-trick of wasted chances, and this time there was no real excuse. Steve Forbes was the provider with a superb run down the right wing. He cut inside Kieran Corcoran, drew Preddie towards him and rolled the ball into Crace's path. A solid strike should have brought the opening goal, but Crace snatched at the ball and he sliced high and wide of the target.

Just before half-time, there was an even worse miss. A free-kick from the left wing was curled into the penalty area. Chesham appealed for both offside and a push by a Hendon player; Hendon appealed for a penalty as Forbes appeared to be pushed.

Referee Mr M Scholes gave nothing and the ball fell to Steve Butler, 6 yards from goal and nothing but fresh air in front of him. It appeared that Butler was also waiting for a whistle, but he should still have put the ball in the net instead of blasting it over the bar.

The misses were forgotten, at least temporarily, as the game moved into first-half added-time. Randall made another foray deep into Chesham territory. Instead of passing to Crace, he elected to shoot. Preddie parried the ball and RANDALL called off Crace before banging the rebound off Preddie's hands and Nathan Bowden-Haase on the line.

It took less than 2 minutes for the first chance of the second half to go begging, Paul Towler heading wide from a Mickey Woolner corner. Butler then could not direct a Duncan corner from the opposite wing.

In the 57th minute, and right out of the blue, Chesham equalised. They launched an attack down the right wing, but the cross was overhit. The ball, however, stayed in play and Dwayne Clarke controlled it near to the corner flag.

He was forced onto his weaker right foot, technically a sound piece of defending by Woolner. It turned out to be the wrong decision as CLARKE drilled in a cross with his right foot and the ball flew past Hook just inside the far post. No matter how lucky the strike was, it still counted and Chesham found themselves back on terms.

It did not mean they were able to lay siege on the Hendon goal; far from it. They were forced a defensive mode and were lucky to keep a clean sheet the rest of the way.

Butler with another header and a close-range shot that kissed the crossbar - he launched himself at the ball, was at full stretch to reach it and could do nothing about keeping it down - Towler, with a pair of headers, and Randall with 20-yard shot all missed the target.

Eugene Ofori replaced Crace in the 75th minute and, within 30 seconds, came desperately close to scoring with a 25-yard dipping volley. His pace unsettled the tiring Chesham defence, but he didn't get another clear sight of goal.

Kieran Gallagher replaced Jon-Barrie Bates, who along with Mark Cooper and Jamie Burgess, were cautioned, although no Chesham players found their way into the inconsistent Mr Scholes' book. His first action was to take a free-kick on the edge of the Chesham box, but he failed to take account of the wind and the ball flew over the bar.

"It was my fault," admitted manager Dave Anderson. "I told Kieran to take it if he fancied it, but he had not had time to judge the wind."

In the 82nd minute, Butler was again unmarked as he bounced a free header just wide of the near post. Towler had just completed his hat-trick of misses - this one was the hardest of the trio - when, 3 minutes from time, Gallagher almost opened his League account for Hendon.

He curled in a corner that Preddie was never going to reach before it entered the goal. Somehow, Wayne Brown was able to flick the header across the face of his own goal and out for a throw-in.

"How many chances did we miss today," asked Mr Anderson after the game. "I feel we dominated the game, especially in the second half, and missed 6 good chances."