Hendon produced another excellent performance in holding fourth-placed Dulwich Hamlet to a goalless draw at Champion Hill on Saturday. Spurred on by a crowd in excess of 1,000, Hamlet huffed and puffed but couldn't blow down Hendon's solidly built house, and then had their goalkeeper to thank for preserving even one point.

The Greens brought in Tony Taggart to replace Lewis Clark, a move designed to bolster the midfield. Clark was named on the bench, as was fit-again Andre Da Costa, but neither were used, and nor was Adam Wallace.

Dulwich, running towards the low sun, made a rapid start and probably should have taken the lead inside 20 seconds when Shawn McCoulsky was given a shooting chance by Xavier Vidal. Ben McNamara made an excellent save, but the rebound fell to Nyren Clunis, who headed wastefully over the crossbar.

McNamara looked less at ease when Kershaney Samuels' effort was blocked rather than saved, but there were no pink and blue shirts close enough to take advantage of this rebound and the Hendon defence hacked the ball clear.

Hamlet had a number of loud penalty shouts turned down, the first in the eighth minute. Vidal seemed to have got clear but he was stopped by a copybook tackle that seemed to win the ball cleanly, though the striker went down.

Although Dulwich had the bulk of possession and territory, Hendon’s defending was never anything short of measured and there few if any desperation clearances, or occasions when the ball was cleared without thought. When Hamlet players got sights of goal, they tended to be from some distance out and the shooting was generally inaccurate.

At the other end, Ethan Pinnock and the veteran Terrell Forbes bottled up Leon Smith and Kezie Ibe very well. There was one moment of worry for Oshane Brown, whose kicking and predilection for short goal kicks suggested a leg injury, had to rush out of goal. His clearance went straight to Taggart and while a number of other Hendon players might have tried their luck with 45-50 yard attempt at goal, Taggart elected to keep the ball, though the attack came to nothing.

Bagasan Graham and Vidal linked up we to set up Clunis, but his effort was well blocked by the Hendon defence.

It took until the 39th minute for Hendon to have a clear sight of goal. It came from a deep corner which was won by Lee O'Leary. He got free of his marker but looped his header onto the top of the net, though his angle was tight and maybe a header back towards the middle of the goal might have been better.

Hendon were much better in the second half and they did much better in stifling the Dulwich attacks. Dave Diedhiou, Elliot Brathwaite Chris Seeby and Oliver Sprague - assisted by a calm and assured Kevin Maclaren in front of them - certainly got the better of most the exchanges with with Clunis, Vidal, Graham and McCoulsky.

It must be said that as the game progressed Hamlet rather ran out of ideas and they seemed to lack a plan B. at the other end, it was a similar stalemate, where Jordan Hibbert, Frazer Shaw, Pinnock and Forbes won most of their battles.

Smith had few chances to display his recent goalscoring prowess and he was limited to just two shots both of which were off target. Ibe caused Dulwich a few more problems, but was not given a clear sight of goal.

Midway through the second half, Hendon made a double change, sending on Peter Dean and Belal Aite-Ouakrim to replace Taggart and Smith, giving the Greens a different look. A couple of minutes later Kevin James replaced Graham for Dulwich and his arrival almost led to a goal.

He played his part in a move which saw a Dulwich shot blocked. The ball fell to McCoulsky, who knocked it past McNamara. Unfortunately for him, the assistant referee had his flag raised for offside and the goal didn't count.

Dave Diedhiou then linked well with Sam Murphy and Dean and got around the back of the Dulwich defence. Ibe was well placed in the middle of the penalty area, but Diedhou opted to go for goal and although his effort beat Brown, the ball thudded into the side netting at the near post.

With 15 minutes to go, Brown produced an outstanding save to deny Murphy. The goalkeeper couldn't hold the ball but Jordan Hibbert launched it clear towards the halfway line.

This led to a rapid and dangerous counter-attack. McCoulsky again had the chance, but McNamara was equal to it and produced a brave and well-timed block.

With six minutes to go, moments after Dean McDonald had replaced Ashley Carew, Dulwich had another loud penalty shout. This time it was Diedhiou who made a copybook tackle, and the referee took exception to one of the complaints, cautioning the player.

Four minutes later, in an almost identical incident, this time in the Dulwich penalty area, Ibe went down following a tackle from Pinnock. This, too, was an excellent challenge and whilst some Hendon fans felt aggrieved at the non-award of the penalty, it was another example of the consistency of decision-making by the excellent referee.

There was still time for late drama at the Dulwich end. O'Leary, not known for his long-range shooting, showed that he has more than enough in his locker to try it more often. Brown had to be at full stretch to turn aside his goalbound effort, then recovered quickly enough to thwart Ibe, who was on the hunt for a rebound.