Hendon were grateful to the returning Elliott Charles for rescuing a point against strugglers Aveley at Vale Farm on Saturday. The 1-1 draw saw the Greens slip one place to sixth in the Ryman League Premier Division, whilst Aveley, the only team in the bottom seven to pick up even one point, rose a position to 17th, ahead of Hendon's next opponents - Tooting & Mitcham United - on goal difference.

Frank Sinclair (stomach bug), James Parker (work commitments) and Mauro Vilhete (injured) were all forced to drop out from the starting line-up which had been so effective against AFC Hornchurch four days earlier. Michael Peacock, Carl McCluskey and Jerome Federico were the three replacements in the starting line-up, which saw Dave Diedhiou drop into the defence in a further reshuffle.

Such is the nature of Hendon's incredible injury crisis that that 10 outfield players (James Archer, Elliott Brathwaite, Jamie Busby, James Fisher, Casey Maclaren, Aaron Morgan, Lee O'Leary, Parker, Sinclair and Vilhete) were unavailable. The Greens' five substitutes were sorely lacking in competitive match practice with work experience youngster Mustafa Mirzai (yet to make his debut) joining Junior Lewis (no competitive action this season), Michael Lewis (out two months), Greg Ngoyi (out six weeks) and Elliott Charles (out three weeks) on the bench.

In addition to the long injury list, Hendons were facing their third match in six days, whilst Aveley had played only once in 11 days. When all these factors are taken into account, it is hardly surprising that Hendon failed to fire on all cylinders.

The first clear opening of a cagey first half didn't come until almost half an hour had passed. Then good work down the left flank by Evans Kouassi resulted in a cross which was met by an unchallenged Ellis Remy, but the tall striker placed his header wide of the far post.

Hendon created three excellent chances in as many minutes just before the 40-minute mark. First Spencer Harrison under hit a back-passed header towards David McCartney and Isaiah Rankin tried to lob the goalkeeper. The forward, who has been struggling with a tight hamstring and would not have started had there been a fit alternative, put just a little too much on his attempt and the ball dropped behind the crossbar.

From the Greens' next attack, they forced a free-kick just outside the penalty area. The ball was half-cleared and fell to Elliott Godfrey, whose rasping drive from 22 yards clipped the top of the bar with McCartney well beaten.

The goalkeeper was forced to make a save a minute later when Federico worked himself an opening. Although McCartney had to dive to make a save, it was the sort of one he would be expected to make.

In the second half, the tempo increased as both teams looked to break the deadlock. A drive from Kevin Maclaren fizzed inches wide of the angle of post and crossbar when the Millers failed to properly clear a 59th-minute Hendon corner, while a teasing cross from Scott Cousins needed three attempts before it was cleared.

From another Hendon corner, Ryan Wharton failed to get good contact and Aveley again needed a couple of goes before completing the clearance. But it wasn't all one-way traffic.

In the 65th minute, Dave Diedhiou and Peacock failed to deal with a raid down the Aveley left and when the ball was crossed in, Paul Shave - who was lucky to receive only a yellow card for a crude first-half foul on Kevin Maclaren - had a free header from less than six yards out. His attempt, however, was directed straight at Berkley Laurencin, who was able to make a save.

Three minutes later, Aveley showed that the Hendon defence hadn't learned its lesson. From a Greens set-piece, the ball was knocked to the half-way line where Abs Thompson collected the ball.

The midfielder ran straight down the middle as three defenders backed off him until it was too late. When a challenge came in, the ball was deflected out towards Sean Bonnett-Johnson, who rocketed a shot from 20 yards past Laurencin.

Charles had already replaced Rankin and, showing the urgency of the Hendon situation, Ngoyi then replaced centre-back Peacock. The two substitutes caused different problems for the Aveley defence, but the Millers' rearguard held out, albeit with a degree of uncertainty.

With seven minutes of normal time remaining, Hendon got the equaliser their pressure deserved. For the first time a half-clearance by a Millers defender didn't go almost directly to a team-mate and McCluskey alerted dived in and directed the loose ball to Darren Currie.

His cross towards the far post floated over McCartney, but dropped enough by the time it reached the far post for Charles to plant a header from two yards out into the roof of the net. A couple of defenders looked towards the assistant referee, hoping to see a flag raised, but the Grenada international had timed his run perfectly and the scores were level.

Both teams went looking for a winner and Hendon brought on Junior Lewis (Federico went off) for his first competitive appearance for the Greens since May 1999. Aveley also made a late change, Reece Morgan replacing Joe Keith, and he should have won the game for the Millers two minutes into added time.

A cross from the right wing found Morgan all alone in front of goal and less than six yards from the target. He swung his foot and drove the ball high over the crossbar as Wharton threw himself towards the substitute in a bid to put him off.

In the last minute of stoppage time, Lewis had a chance to create danger when he was released down the right wing. He was, however, outsprinted to the ball by Harry Milton, who had been five years old when the Hendon player-coach had played his last game in a Greens shirt.

Hendon manager Gary McCann said, "We were average at best today. Even with all our injuries I thought the team I picked was strong enough to win the game.

"The injury situation is terrible and it seems to be at its worst when we come up against teams in the bottom part of the table - Horsham, Leatherhead and now Aveley. I don't want to use the injuries as an excuse, but if we had been anywhere near full strength in those games I am sure we would have won all of them."