Hendon scored four times in 11 minutes either side of half-time to destroy Canvey Island at Earlsmead on Monday night. For about an hour, the Gulls dominated possession and territory, but they managed only one goal in 25 minutes of first-half superiority and a penalty in the last 35 as Hendon coasted home.

Tony Taggart and Dean Cracknell replaced the rested Michael Bryan and Lee O'Leary as Gary McCann's promised freshening up was delivered upon. Both rested players were named as substitutes, alongside Junior Lewis, Max McCann and Aaron Morgan.

Canvey Island came racing out of the traps and immediately put pressure on the Hendon defence, but a couple of desperate clearances kept them out. In the sixth minute, from a rare Hendon attack, Cracknell drilled a shot past Josh Vickers, but was denied the opening goal by a magnificent goalline clearance from Rio Bryan-Edwards.

Two minutes later, Berkley Laurencin made a stunning save to keep out a long-range drive from Freddie Warren. The rebound seemed to need only a touch for the opening goal as Moses Ademola ran in, slightly ahead of the recovering Laurencin and a Hendon defender, and the angle at which the ball went out of play suggested either a corner or a penalty, but the referee awarded a goal-kick.

Sheldon Sellars was proving a real thorn in the Hendon side, giving Jack Bennett a stern examination. Many of the Gulls' best moments came from Sellars in possession and, in the 12th minute, he forced a corner, from which Canvey took the lead.

It was a well-worked move, one from which their manager Danny Heale had profited on many occasions at both Canvey Island and Concord Rangers. The ball was played into the near post, flicked on and finished off by the alert Jay Curran..

The Hendon goal had a few alarums and excursions, but James Fisher and Flegg began to come to terms with the runs of Ademola, Warren and McBean, while Kevin Maclaren worked tirelessly in assisting Bennett in his contest with Sellars. On the other flank, Chris Seeby generally had less difficult work to do.

Having finally settled into the game, Hendon began to try their luck going forward, but were still probably second best until well past the half-hour mark. However, Canvey Island's defence had leaked three goal against Harrow Borough on Saturday and there was clear nervousness, especially when Jefferson Louis got the ball.

They should have paid more attention to others, however, as in the 36th minute, a ball from Bennett found Anthony Thomas, who in turn fed the ball to Taggart. Vickers was beaten all ends up by Taggart's precise strike and the scores were level.

That parity lasted barely a minute. Vickers made a superb save to keep out a shot from Cracknell, but no one reacted as fast as Carl McCluskey, who drilled the rebound into net to give Hendon the lead.

Two minutes later, with the Gulls' defence in a serious flap, they were breached again. The blanket covering of Louis had been relaxed and he reacted by racing clear and firing home.

Canvey desperately needed the half-time whistle to regather their thoughts and set about getting back into the match. Instead, less than two minutes after the resumption, the defence failed to deal with Seeby, Taggart or McCluskey and when the ball fell to Louis, he took his tally for the season to 18 with a rasping close-range drive.

And it very nearly got even worse for Canvey Island, in the 56th minute, when a ball from McCluskey was deflected into the path of Bennett. Bryan-Edwards attempted to block Bennett's shot but managed only to divert it past his goalkeeper, off the far post and into the net.

Bennett's celebrations were stilled by the assistant referee, who ruled that he had received the ball in am offside position. The full-back was certain he had timed his run perfectly, and maybe the assistant referee thought it was a Hendon a player who had diverted the ball into Bennett's path. Either way, the goal was disallowed.

With the FA Trophy tie against Whitstable looming, Hendon went back into their collective shells and ceded the initiative back to Canvey Island. There were a couple of chances for the Greens on the break, but the final ball lacked the crispness of earlier in the half. Thomas did bend an impudent 25-yard shot inches wide of the far post, just to remind Canvey that they couldn't go hell-for-leather in search of another goal.

But the Gulls were given a lifeline back into the game in the 63rd minute, when Bennett was penalised for handball close to his six-yard0box as he blocked a shot drilled at him from close range. It was a harsh penalty, taken full toll of by Curran, who sent Laurencin the wrong way.

There was another worry for Hendon when, in the 73rd minute, Thomas attempted to block a ball downfield from Curran. He made no contact with the ball, but Curran collided with him and was taken off with what looked like a serious ankle injury. The referee waved away protesting Canvey players, baying for a red card and showed Thomas a yellow one.

Curran was helped off and quickly had his ankle swathed in an ice bandage. Thomas, either side of Taggart and Cracknell, was replaced as Bryan, Morgan and McCann were introduced. Bryan's trickery soon created panic in the Canvey defence, but there was always just enough in the way of yellow shirts to avert the danger.

Harrison Chatting, a half-time replacement for McBean and Spencer Bellotti, who had replaced Warren tried to further reduce the defecit, and the latter brought out the best in Laurencin. If Canvey had been able to get a third goal, they might been able to up their game further, but Hendon remained content to keep them at arm's length and eased up approaching the final whistle.