Hendon advanced to the semi-finals of the Middlesex Senior Cup with a narrow but deserved victory over Combined Counties League high-flyers Hanworth Villa. It certainly wasn't the prettiest of games, but Hendon deserve much credit for keeping their discipline in the face of opponents whose challenges were on the robust side.

The Greens will be away to Hampton & Richmond Borough (beaten by Hendon in the quarter-finals last season) who beat Bedfont Town 3-2 on Wednesday evening.

There were a number of changes to the team which had beaten Leatherhead three days earlier, with James Parker replacing James Fisher, debutant Leandre Lohourignon coming in for Scott Cousins, Casey Maclaren taking over from Elliott Godfrey, Isaiah Rankin getting a start at Greg Ngoyi's expense and Jerome Federico giving Michael Lewis a night off. Belal Aite-Ouakrim and Junior Lewis joined Ngoyi, Fisher and Godfrey on the bench.

From the opening minutes it was clear that Hendon were superior, but also they had to look after themselves. In the fourth minute, Rankin was hauled down by a challenge from behind after he had passed to Federico, but the referee ruled that no foul had occured.

Federico was causing problems with his pace and he nearly opened the scoring with a 20-yard drive which flashed just past the post with Terry Buss well beaten. The next time he ran at the Villa defence, he was brought down. The ball fell to Jamie Busby, so the referee correctly played an advantage, but Busby's drive cannoned off the outside of a post and bounced to safety.

After this, the game calmed down a little, but the Villa defence was still at full stretch trying to stop Hendon forays forward. Both Adam Bagent and Lee Morley made desperate interventions at full stretch and were fortunate that the ball found team-mates rather a green-shirted opponent.

Eventually, Hendon's pressure told. From a 35th-minute right-wing corner Darren Currie's expert delivery was met by Carl McCluskey, who got in front of Maclaren and two defenders before his flicked headed found the back of the net.

Villa tried hard to get back into the match and Berkley Laurencin soon made a good low save and his positioning was perfect in the 39th minute when he reached a bouncing ball before Lawrie Shennan.

A minute later, Ricky Farnden went down spectacularly in the penalty area, but with more than a half-metre between him and the nearest Hendon defender, his only reward was a yellow card for simulation, a caution he received with a resigned smile.

In the 41st minute, Busby again tried his luck from long range. This time Buss made an excellent save and did even better to hold onto the ball as both Rankin and McCluskey were ideally placed to pounce on any rebound off the goalkeeper.

Shennan was replaced at half-time by Charlie Hare, but the substitute couldn't find his way past a Hendon defence which was much less accommodating than the Sandhurst Town rearguard which had conceded eight goals against Hanworth at the weekend.

They did offer a little danger on the counter-attack, but they still struggled to see much of the ball with Hendon's passing finding team-mates much as they liked. Both Dave Diedhiou and Lohourignon were able to supplement the raids of Currie and Federico down the flanks, but there was no real end-product for the Greens.

With 20 minutes to go, Fisher replaced Ryan Wharton and Godfrey came on for Rankin, while Villa sent on Anthony Oaks in place of Dan Whatford. The last change came with 15 minutes to, Aite-Ouakrim taking over from Federico. This rather narrowed Hendon's width options, but Hanworth soon made a difficult job even harder.

In the 77th minute, attempting a quick raid, a through ball from Farnden was palmed away by Parker, an action for which he was cautioned. Farnden disputed the decision in such a way that he was also shown a yellow card, but as it was his second of the night, his evening's work was over.

Villa's frustration grew three minutes later when a foul on the edge of their penalty area saw play halted - just as the ball landed at the feet of a striker, who had a clear run at goal. Given the distance that the ball had to travel, it would have been a very brave advantage from the referee.

In the 88th minute, Currie had the chance to wrap up the game following good approach play down the left wing. His shot from 12 yards would certainly have beaten Buss, but Morley's brave block denied Currie.

"Job done," was Hendon manager Gary McCann's succinct appraisal of the night's work. "We avoided a banana skin tonight and got some important minutes into a few players who will be key to our matches in the coming weeks.

"I am very pleased with the win and am looking forward to our semi-final."