Hendon booked their expected passage into the third qualifying round of the FA Cup, but Oxhey Jets made the Greens work much harder than they wanted or expected on Saturday afternoon.

In front of a club-record crowd of 376, the Jets, from Molten Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division - two levels below Hendon - played out of their collective skins and even if the result was just about right, that doesn't take into the account the difference of the clubs' standings.

There was just one change to the team which had performed so heroically at Wealdstone on Monday night, Greg Ngoyi coming in for Casey Maclaren in a more attacking formation.

On a glorious afternoon, far too hot for competitive football, the match had the feel of a preseason friendly and the picturesque surroundings certainly added to the sensation. The Jets set out their stall to avoid an embarrassing defeat, and their organisation stifled Hendon.

The two banks of four didn't allow much past them, but they did commit a needless foul, on Elliott Godfrey, after 28 minutes. The defensive wall did its job and the free-kick came to nothing.

After nine minutes a header from Ngoyi went just wide of the post while, four minutes later and at the other end, a drive from Antony Shepherd was also a little wide of the target. However, neither Mark Jessup nor Sean Thomas had a great deal of work to do.

After 43 minutes, Kevin Maclaren picked up a yellow card after committing a foul on Gavin Hart, who had just dispossessed him and was setting of towards the Hendon goal. The loss of possession was typical of sluggish Hendon performance, one that had the substitutes warming up in earnest from midway through the period.

The breakthrough came in the first minute of stoppage time before the interval. James Archer released Ngoyi down the right flank. He cut inside Andrew Lomas and drilled in a low cross towards the near post.

Elliott Charles was quickest to react to the situation and, having got in front of his marker Steve Brown, fired a low shot just inside the near post. The speed of thought and accuracy left Jessop a mere spectator.

The Hendon bench's dissatisfaction with the first half performance was made clear by a double substitution before play resumed. The Maclaren brothers interchanged, while Byron Bubb took over from Carl McCluskey. While the elder Maclaren shored up the midfield, Bubb was given a wide role trying to stretch the defence.

But it was the Jets who started the second half better and they got their reward within three minutes of the resumption. Lee Inch released Andrew Lomas down the left wing and he got around Archer before pulling the ball back towards the penalty spot.

James Parker and Maclaren were both unable to get to the ball before it reached Lewis Putman, who made a couple of substitute appearances for Hendon last season. His low strike found the bottom corner and the home fans went crazy.

Despite the equalising goal, the game's pattern didn't really change and the pace didn't increase, though the Jets clearly felt they had a chance of creating a massive Cup shock. It didn't happen partly because Scott Cousins, Michael Peacock, Parker and Archer were able to deal with pretty much everything Oxhey attempted.

At the other end, central defenders Chris McIntyre and Steve Brown were equally immense, while Lomas stifled everything Bubb attempted and Lee Grace kept Godfrey quiet.

The decisive goal came just before the hour mark. Putman picked up a knock and was about to return after receiving treatment when a clumsy challenge by Lee Armitt earned him a yellow card, after the referee had tried to play an advantage. For complaining about the decision Brown was also cautioned.

The ball was played in towards the penalty spot, where Charles got in front of McIntyre and flicked a header over the defender. Ngoyi reacted quickly and, after allowing the ball to bounce, but before Brown could get in a challenge, drilled a shot across Jessop. The ball cannoned of the inside of the post and bounced into the net.

Shepherd will feel should have done better when he had an almost free header after 65 minutes, but he could not keep the ball below crossbar level. And Thomas finally had to make a save in the 72nd minute when he parried a Spencer Bellotti header and was untroubled by the striker's second attempt, which just about rolled to him.

Brown's afternoon ended prematurely when he stuck out a leg to block the ball as Jamie Busby knocked it past him. But for the intervention, Hendon would have had a three-on-one situation. Unfortunately, however, Brown injured his hamstring and had to be helped off, to be replaced by Nathan Roberts.

Hendon had already made their final change - Michael Lewis coming on for Ngoyi - while Adam Lowton was the only other substitution made by the Jets: he came on Lee Inch with six minutes of normal time remaining.

Hart fired over the crossbar from a good position for Oxhey, whose last chance was a 20-yard drive from Armitt. The ball was blocked by a Hendon defender and the diving Thomas had to wait for the ball to roll slowly into his midriff.

There were five minutes of stoppage time for Hendon to weather, but the Jets could not find a way through. The unfortunately thing about moral victories is that the spoils go to the moral losers.

Oxhey Jets put up a magnificent effort, one for which they should be extremely proud. The reward for winning the game, howeve, went to Hendon, who had just a little more nous than their heralded opponents.

Greens manager Gary McCann said, "Our progression and the performance of our two strikers, both of whom scored, were the only good things to come out of the game.

"We rarely got out of first gear. The heat was certainly a factor and explained the slow pace of the game, but we should have been much better than that, especially in the first half. I made two changes at half-time, but there were five players I could have taken off."