Hendon produced one of their worst 45 minutes of the season as strugglers Wingate & Finchley snatched a 2-0 victory at Vale Farm on a bitterly cold, blustery day, with a rock-hard pitch. It was a great result for the visitors as they strive to move away from the relegation zone, especially as almost all of the teams around them lost.

The Greens showed a number of changes from the team which had snatched a late draw at Harrow Borough two days earlier as Gary McCann attempted to control the number of minutes his already thin squad played. Max McCann was given his first start, while Casey Maclaren and Lee O'Leary began matches for the first time in one and three months, respectively.

Those plans were almost scuttled in the second minute when Isaiah Rankin, sent clear by O'Leary, pulled up with another tweak on his hamstring. The ball rolled out of play and moans by fans at his lack of control were stilled as he gently felt his twanging muscle.

Carl McCluskey was almost sent on straight away, but the veteran striker was able to nurse himself through the first 45 minutes.

The conditions made free-flowing football almost impossible and Howard Hall had a particularly torrid afternoon, three times in the first 20 minutes letting a crossfield ball bounce over his foot and leg out for throw-ins.

Chances were at a premium, but the two closest moments were at the goal defended by Bobby Smith. The first came in the 23rd minute, at the end of one of the few Hendon moves which had fluency.

Rankin was the player on the end of it and his shot was brilliantly turned aside by the Blues goalkeeper.

McCann had two excellent chances to open his Hendon account when he found himself in good scoring positions. His accuracy failed to match his enthusiasm, however, as he snatched at the opportunities and sent the ball some distance wide of the target.

Just before the interval, a right wing cross was misplayed by Wingate & Finchley captain Danny Neilsen and he was more than a touch relieved to see the ball bounce inches wide of his own goal, with Smith scrambling desperately to reach it.

McCluskey struggled in relief of Rankin after the interval and Hendon's passing became more and more aimless.

But he was not alone. Another player who relies upon his touch is Wayne O'Sullivan and the former Hendon man was among the most frustrated players out there until Jack Middleton replaced him after 56 minutes.

Just past the hour mark, Hendon were made to pay for their inaccuracy. A ball aimed at Scott Cousins went nowhere near him and the ball was quickly crossed into the Hendon box.

Given a free run towards the goal, Hector Mackie only had to guide the ball towards one of the posts to give the Blues the lead. His header was perfectly placed and Berkley Laurencin, hopelessly exposed, didn't come close to getting a hand to the ball.

Three minutes later, Leon Smith took over from Jack Hutchinson and he, Thomas and Mackie formed a dangerous attacking triumverate. Sam Flegg and James Fisher were kept on their toes at all times and Laurencin did well to gather a couple of difficult crosses blown about by the wind.

In the 77th minute, Jack Connors replaced O'Leary and, three minutes later, the Blues thought they had sealed the match. An attack down their right flank resulted in a cross which Smith smashed into the net.

His celebrations were stilled by the sight of the assistant referee's flag. As the ball had been cross from close to the goalline, he couldn't believe he had been in an offside position. The assistant's flag was because the cross had curled out of play.

And the Blues' anger almost turned to anguish as, from the goal-kick, McCluskey burst towards goal, only for the boot of Ryan Scott to deny him the chance of a shot at goal.

With two minutes remaining, the points were sealed when, left in acres of space, Thomas shot low and early, wrong-footing Laurencin. The goalkeeper got only a soft hand on the ball and before he could recover, Smith had knocked the ball over the line.

"I thought we dominated the first half," said an angry Mr McCann, "but it was the second half from Hell.

"We couldn't come to terms with the conditions, but our energy levels weren't good, and we had a number of players who were lacking in match fitness (none of Dean Cracknell, Max McCann, Casey Maclaren, Carl McCluskey and Lee O'Leary have played much in the past month or so)."