Hendon made it 28 years since they went out of the FA Cup at the first attempt as they comfortably beat Biggleswade United 7-1 at Earlsmead on Sunday afternoon.

With Junior Morias and Lee Angol returning to Wycombe Wanderers and James Fisher dropping to the bench, Tony Taggart, Carl McCluskey and Michael Murray came into the starting line up.

The Greens were conscious that they would need to be professional to ensure they didn't suffer a shock result, and that is exactly what they did for the full 90 minutes.

However, it was Biggleswade who had the first chance of the game when Sam Nair, who was the visitors best player on the day, made a good run to the edge of the area and fed the ball into Jude Eboji, but the tall striker was unable to get any power on the ball and Charlie Horlock saved easily.

Michael Murray then had two chances in quick succession, firstly he saw a free kick go wide of the target, and then moments later a headed effort also go wide. Then it was Jefferson Louis turn to have a shot, having received the ball with his back to goal, but the effort was straight at Adam Harpur.

Biggleswade's best chance of the first half came in the 17th minute when a slip from Carl McCluskey allowed Tom Cookman a clear run at goal, but whilst his strike beat Horlock, it also struck the woodwork and bounced away to safety.

The play moved down to the other end, and Murray fed the ball into Taggart, who made a good run towards goal. His initial shot was saved by Harpur, but Taggart was first onto the rebound and he ensured the ball found the back of the net.

A couple of minutes after the goal Sam Flegg made a run through midfield, played a one-two with Lee O'Leary but was unable to get enough on his shot to test the Biggleswade stopper.

On the half hour mark, Louis had another effort, and he was disappointed to see his shot curl just the wrong side of the post, but it only delayed the second goal by a few minutes.

Three minutes later the ball was played into the box. Murray saw his headed effort saved, but the loose ball went out wide to Jack Bennett, who crossed the ball for Taggart to head home and double the lead.

The third goal came shortly before half time. The Biggleswade defence could only half clear the ball and it fell to Jack Bennett, who fired a humdinger of a shot off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net.

The second half opened in much the same vein, with the Greens having the vast majority of possession, with O'Leary, Louis and Chris Seeby all having chances in the opening ten minutes.

On the hour mark a Murray corner was missed by everyone and fell to Kevin Maclaren, but his drive flew over the bar, whilst at the other end Cookman could only shoot straight at Horlock.

In the 72nd minute Taggart had a chance to complete his hat-trick, but his header went straight into the arms of Harpur.

Just a minute later however, Hendon went 4-0 ahead when a Murray corner found Chris Seeby on the far side of the penalty box and he slammed the ball into the back of the net for his first goal for the club.

Aaron Morgan and Anthony Thomas were both introduced to the action in the 75th minute to replace Taggart and Louis, and they both had a huge hand in increasing the scoreline.

In the 84th minute, Morgan recieved the ball on the wing and delivered the ball into the path of Thomas for the latter to score the fifth goal of the game.

Three minutes later, Morgan appeared on the other side of the pitch, and fed the ball to Thomas for the latter to score the sixth goal of the game.

As the game entered the final minute of normal time, the referee ruled that Cookman was tripped by Horlock and the visitors were awarded a penalty. Angus Stewart stepped up and sent Horlock the wrong way to score a consolation for the Bedfordshire side.

However, the Greens weren't finished and moved the play to the other end from the kick off. The ball was played into Thomas and he completed a rapid-fire hat-trick with a curling shot into the far corner of the net. It is believed that this is the quickest ever hat-trick in the history of the club.

There was hardly enough time for Biggleswade to restart the game again before the referee blew the final whistle. The result was Hendon's biggest FA Cup win since beating Flackwell Heath 8-0 in 1995.

Credit must go to Biggleswade, who tried to play the game the right way, keeping the ball on the ground and playing a passing game, and didn't resort to the tactic of kicking anything that moved.

"We were in control from start to finish", said a delighted Gary McCann after the game. "I was pleased with the way we never took our foot off the gas. It was a nice thorough professional performance.

"We showed Biggleswade the respect that they deserved and they tried to play football the right way.

"I am very pleased that Anthony Thomas scored a hat-trick. His attitude over the past few weeks has been spot on, and he took his chances very well.

"We now hope for a kind draw tomorrow, but we don't fear anyone as we showed last season."