Hendon reached the 3rd round of the FA Umbro Trophy for the 4th consecutive season with a battling 2-1 victory over Maidenhead United at York Road on Saturday.

There were two changes the starting line-up from the side which beat Hertford in midweek, Mark Cooper and Steve Forbes comng to the side at the expense of Mark Burgess and Phil Ruggles, both of whom joined Dale Binns and Davis Haule on the substitutes' bench alongside Duncan Hamilton, a defender from the reserve team who replaced the injured Marvyn Watson.

The Dons could not have made a better start. Their first attack led to the opening goal. After just 40 seconds. A diagonal cross from Micky Woolner was met by the swinging boot of Jamie Jarvis and he was relieved to see his sliced clearance fall just behind the crossbar on the roof of the net.

Byron Bubb took the corner and delivered a perfect ball into the penalty area. Ross PICKETT rose well and, with Richard Barnard in no man's land, headed the ball into the roof of the net. The crestfallen goalkeeper looked to referee Mr M Ebbage (Hants) for a foul, but he knew there had been none.

Maidenhead made a concerted effort to get back into the game and they came close three times in the next 7 minutes. In the 6th minute, Ricky Ibe was denied by a great save from David Hook.

A minute later, Rob Saunders stumbled under a challenge just inside the Hendon penalty area. Amid loud claims for a penalty from the team, he regained his feet but could do nothing with the half-chance.

In the 8th minute, however, Adrian Allen had a great chance but he was thwarted by another great save. Hendon boss Dave Anderson - himself a former goalkeeper - described the two efforts from Hook as, "one save (being) very good, but other, one of the best saves I have seen at this level in the last 5 years."

In the 9th minute, Jon-Barrie Bates, who had a storming game in the heart of midfield, made a break towards goal. A one-two with Joe Nartey took Bates clear into the penalty area. Instead of a first-time shot, Bates tried to go around Barnard and was tripped by the goalkeeper. There was clear contact, but Mr Ebbage made it clear to Bates that his view was the Hendon man went looking for the foul.

Simon Clarke and Micky Woolner did well to keep the pressure on Maidenhead's wide men, Allen and Obinna Ulasi, forcing them to rush crosses which were easily dealt with by defenders Paul Towler and Cooper, or Hook. Forbes' presence alongside Bates added a degree of stability to the heart of midfield, stifling the Magpies, who had surprisingly dropped former Hendon man Paul Kelly.

In the 26th minute, Bates had another chance to score. This time he drove a shot which Barnard seemed unlikely to reach, but Tim Cook got his head to the ball and deflected it away for a corner. Four minutes later, Woolner deflected a shot from Ulasi into the side-netting for a Maidenhead corner.

Hendon ended the half much as they had started it. In the 40th minute, Byron Bubb drove a free-kick a foot over the Maidenhead bar, the ball dipping a fraction too late. Three minutes later, Bates drove a 20-yard shot straight into the midriff of Barnard.

Then, with the last action of the half, a defensive slip from Cook, under pressure from Nartey, gave the former Maidenhead man a great chance to double Hendon's advantage. Barnard was out of position as the ball broke loose, but Nartey slipped slightly as he tried to guide the ball into the net and his shot lacked pace, allowing Barnard to recover and make a sliding save.

Two minutes after the restart, Ibe sent Allen clear, but he shot straight at Hook. Hendon's first attack of the second half saw Nartey drive a low shot across the the 6-yard-line and Bubb try to turn the ball at the near post. It went a foot the wrong side of the post from a Hendon perspective. Jarvis and Rob Saunders both squandered chances for Maidenhead, before an incisive counter-attack decided the tie.

In the 62nd minute, a perfectly-time tackle from Clarke dispossessed Allan. He found Forbes, who ran into the middle of the Maidenhead half. His pass out to the right side of the penalty area found Bubb unmarked. The Maidenhead defence, caught out by Bubb being on the "wrong" side were torn apart as two players went to cover him.

Bubb quickly slid the ball into the gap created by the defenders dragged out of position. Paul YATES timed his run perfectly, controlled the ball and drilled it through the legs of the advancing Barnard for his first goal in Hendon colours.

Instead of consolidating on their lead, Hendon dozed and conceded a goal within 60 seconds of Yates' strike. Saunders broke down the middle, was forced to his left, but still got off a powerful shot. Hook was unable to hold onto the ball and IBE knocked the rebound into the net.

Psychologically, the advantage was with Maidenhead, but Hendon's resolve stiffened. Kelly excepted, the Magpies' bench lacked experience, so manager Alan Devonshire was limited in his options. He sent Kelly and Eammon McConigley for Allen and Tom Hickey in the final dozen or so minutes, but they could not alter the course of the match.

Anderson replaced the tiring Nartey with Binns and used him in a forward role. It was good move because Maidenhead had to could not commit everything to attack until the dying minutes, in case Hendon broke away. In the end, although Saunders had a goal ruled out for offside, it was hardly a borderline decision, and claims for a penalty for handball by Cooper were more in desperation than anything else.

"It was a real cup-tie," admitted a happy Mr Anderson. "We rode our luck a little bit, but David Hook made some fine saves. Last week, the luck was not with us, so we deserved some today."