Hendon's interest in the FA Carlsberg Trophy was, once again, a short-lived affair. Their first round qualifying exit, 2-1 at fellow Ryman League Premier Division Leiston was, however, unusual, in that the Greens did not deserve their fate.

There were four changes from the team which had dumped Lewes out of the FA Cup with Budweiser seven days earlier. Elliott Brathwaite was recovering from his car accident last weekend and Dave Diedhiou had a slight injury; the other two were tactical as George Smith and Greg Ngoyi dropped to the substitute's bench. In came Scott Cousins (for Brathwaite), Scott Shulton (for Diedhiou), Michael Murray (for Smith) and Isaiah Rankin (for Ngoyi).

It would be unfair to say that the match was decided by the two goalkeepers because Berkley Laurencin did practically nothing wrong and was blameless for the two Leiston goals. However, the performance of Danny Potter in goal for the Blues was exceptional as he made six superb stops and a couple of others that were merely good.

Hendon did miss the physical presence of Brathwaite, but the Greens' problems, especially in the first half, were largely self-inflicted as their ball retention and passing was not good. This put extra pressure on the defence where George McCluskey partnered James Fisher and did a pretty good job in the middle, especially given the amount of balls that came in from the flanks.

And it was from sloppy play out wide that Leiston took the lead after 11 minutes. A cross from Sheridan Driver was headed back to him, but not a single golden shirt went near him as he delivered a second ball back into the penalty area. This time, Danny Thrower timed his run perfectly, reaching the ball a yard clear of McCluskey, and his flicked header went just inside the far post.

Almost immediately, Hendon had the chance to equalise. A throw-in by Elliott Charles was flicked on at the near post by David Head and hit the underside of the crossbar. The ball bounced down but Rankin could not find the target from the rebound in a congested six-yard box.

In the 18th minute, Leiston had another escape when a goalmouth scramble saw Dean Cracknell and Fisher denied by goalline clearances and a third chance was bundled clear from just inside the six-yard box.

But these were rare Hendon forays into the Leiston penalty area. Most of the action took place at the other end and Laurencin produced a brilliant save to deny Emmanuel Osei, though the effort would have been ruled out because of an offside flag.

Hendon felt they should have had a penalty in first half stoppage time when Stuart Boardley blocked a low corner from Murray a combination of wrist and thigh. The well-placed assistant ruled that the midfielder's arm had been against his body and hadn't moved to the ball, much to Shulton's chagrin - he was the closest Hendon player to the incident.

The stern half-time talking-to issued by the Hendon management team had the desired effect as Leiston were forced into a stern rearguard action. They had to do this without Driver, who had reinjured his hamstring and Thomas Wray took over from him.

Wray was the less busy of the full-backs because most of the Hendon danger came from the opposite flank where Patrick Brothers did enough to persuade the home sponsors to award him the man of the match champagne ahead of the more deserving Potter.

Potter produced the first of his super saves in the 50th minute, when Rankin was sent down the middle by Murray. Rankin was too fast for Joe Jefford and his shot seemed destined for the bottom corner, until Potter pushed the ball firmly away from danger - far enough to deny Charles the chance of following up on the rebound.

Seven minutes later, however, Hendon were level. A corner from Murray was hit goalwards by Cracknell and Charles nipped in to divert the ball between Wray and Potter on the goalline. It was no more than the Greens deserved.

For the next dozen minutes, Hendon were in complete control, but some brave defending and excellent work from Potter kept the Blues in the game. After 70 minutes, Leiston finally launched a dangerous attack, but Laurencin made a routine save from a long-range drive.

Three minutes later, however, the goalkeeper was beaten by a great strike from Rhys Henry. Taking the ball early, Henry fired from 25 yards and Laurencin could only watch as the ball struck his right post, rolled along the goal-line and kissed the inside of the left upright before nestling in the side-netting.

Hendon's response was to send on Ngoyi in place of Rankin and he was quickly denied twice by Potter. Jack Mazzone then replaced Murray, and he, too, was thwarted by the former Canvey Island and Torquay stopper.

Charles also came close to a second Hendon goal, but his goalbound drive was blocked by Jefford, who threw himself in front of the shot and diverted the ball for a corner.

With three minutes of normal time remaining, the Maclaren brothers switched, Casey replacing Kevin, who had been his usual industrious self in the heart of midfield. Casey had to wait only three minutes for his opportunity to force a replay, but he, like his team-mates, found that there was no way past Potter, who made a stunning, sprawling save of a shot he saw very late.

Hendon manager Gary McCann said, "I didn't think we were good in the first half. At half time I spoke to the players and they reacted very well.

"We were much better in the second half and if we had taken our chances we could have won the game comfortably. Their goalkeeper was outstanding, however, and made a number of great saves."