Hendon bounced back from their Boxing Day disappointment to beat Leiston 3-1 in a thoroughly entertaining clash at Earlsmead on Saturday. The win lifted Hendon to 10th in the Ryman League Premier Division table.

Both teams made changes to their starting line-ups following Thursday's exertions. For Hendon Casey Maclaren, Lee O'Leary, Adam Wallace - his first start for the Greens - and Carl McCluskey all started, with Ryan Wharton, Dave Diedhiou, Anthony Thomas and Tony Taggart dropping to the bench. Leiston replaced Nnamdi Nwachuku, Jack Simmons and Stuart Boardley with Adam Tann, Rhys Henry and Leon Ottley-Gooch.

It was, however, an afternoon of attrition for the Blues, who were forced into two first-half substitutions and had goalkeeper Danny Gay severely restricted for the whole of the second half.

Both teams showed a willingness to attack at pace in the early minutes, but there was a lack of composure in the danger areas and this allowed the defences to remain on top. Michael Bryan, again linking up well with Chris Seeby, had already given Patrick Brothers a difficult first quarter before the full-back cried "no more", and Matt Redgrave replaced him.

Leiston had already shown great bravery on a couple of occasions, defenders throwing themselves in front of shots at goal. They were fortunate when Wallace was off-target with a shot from a good position and Jefferson Louis couldn’t keep an effort down.

Ross Fitzsimons pulled off a magnificent save after 27 minutes when he tipped a goalbound effort from Joe Francis just over the crossbar. The Leiston man was already turning away in celebration and looked dumbfounded as the Hendon goalkeeper made his intervention.

Five minutes later, Hendon took the lead. The Leiston defence, for once, lost its shape and Bryan ran onto a loose ball 25 yards out. He took a couple of strides forward, then careful aim, before lashing the ball into the net. Gay's dive was for effect only as he was nowhere the shot.

The goalkeeper's afternoon took a distinct turn for the worse after 38 minutes. A rather aimless pass into the Leiston penalty area probably should have been dealt with by David Head or Tann, but they dallied and Wallace sniffed a chance. Gay raced off his line and the two players reached the ball simultaneously.

The referee was happy there was no foul, but Gay lay on the ground in obvious pain. Wallace's touch on the ball took it away from the goal and he, in any case, stumbled in the collision. A defender put the ball out for a throw-in, but it was clear Gay was severely inconvenienced, his right shoulder being the damaged area.

He was able to continue, but Hendon didn't pepper his goal to test out his limited mobility, until the last minute of the half. First Louis fired a snapshot just over the bar.

In stoppage time, a frantic goalmouth scramble saw Tann block Wallace's first attempt, then a teammate denied him again with a goalline clearance. Finally, a desperate boot saw the ball ferried away to safety, but there were bodies strewn across the penalty area.

All got back to their feet, except for Tann, whose bravery in blocking Wallace's shot was his last meaningful act of the match as he went off injured a minute or so after the resumption, Nwachuku replacing him. Almost eight minutes of stoppage time were played at the end of the first half, and the period ended with two more goalbound efforts blocked by red-shirted defenders.

There was some question as to whether Gay would be fit to resume, but with no substitute goalkeeper on the bench, and two replacements already made, Leiston's management team decided on the status quo.

It paid off very quickly as, in the 49th minute, they drew level. A simple lofted ball into the penalty area was flicked on by Ottley-Gooch. Gareth Heath timed his run perfectly to reach the ball by the penalty spot and his shot found the bottom corner. No Hendon player had reacted to the midfielder’s run and there were some stern faces in green shirts looking for the culprit.

For the next ten minutes, Leiston asked some difficult questions, but Seeby, Jack Bennett, Casey and Kevin Maclaren and James Fisher held firm. The visitors were determined to go for the win and made their last change midway through the half, Henry making way for Simmons.

A couple of minutes later, a cross into the Leiston box was met by Louis, jumping with Head. The defender got the tiniest of touches, which allowed Gay to make an outstanding fingerip save, clawing the ball out for a corner at full stretch.

His landing was not as good as his save, because he lay motionless on the ground in serious pain. Gay required more lengthy treatment before being able to continue and now there was wiggle room on the bench.

And, sadly for Gay, his great save was also in vain. The corner was perfectly weighted and accurately delivered before being flicked into the net by McCluskey. Blake Saker on defensive duty, guarding the post, was too short to make a clearance.

Almost immediately, Bennett tangled with Simmons inside the Hendon penalty area. Half of the visiting supporters were convinced it should have been a penalty, the other half believed their player had gone down too easily. There was no whistle from the referee.

In the 73rd minute, Hendon extended their lead with a fine Louis goal. He had held off Head before running into the penalty area with only Gay to beat. Louis looked up and curled in a sweet strike just inside the far post. The body language of Gay clearly suggested that he was unable to even try making a save.

That proved to be the end of the goalscoring, but not the entertainment as both teams strived vainly to increase their totals. Fitzsimons made another good save while, at the other end, Leiston continued to risk life and limb with brave blocks.

Thomas, Diedhiou and Taggart replaced Wallace, Bryan and McCluskey as Hendon saw out time, but all three substitutes had at least one scoring opportunity, as did Louis and Lee O'Leary, but they came to nought.