Hendon named eight teenagers in their 16-man squad for the game at Brentwood Town and the lack of experience in so many positions was cruelly exposed the hosts, whose hopes of pulling out of the bottom four remained slight despite the 4–1 victory.

Nyv Bogaire and Oliver Achille, 16 and 17 respectively, both made their first starts for the Greens, while the other teenagers on duty were Keagan Cole (16) and Ben Pattie (19), among the starters while Brandon Adams (18), Luke Tingey (19), Jordan Spearman (17) and Kieran Warren (17) were on the bench (the latter two being used).

It wasn't just the inexperience which led to the Greens' downfall. Brentwood's desperation for three points was a clear factor, as was the fact the two centre-backs Casey Maclaren and Achille had not only never played together, but also they had enjoyed a single training session in tandem – a month earlier before Maclaren was injured then ill.

Taking full advantage were Sam Bantick, Connor Witherspoon, Tom Richardson and Alex Teniola. First to try his luck was Richardson, who was forced wide of goal by Joe Wright in the 10th minute, but then lifted a lob over the goal and wide of the goal.

Midway through the half, Town found the key to unlock the Hendon defence and Teniola did the rest. No defender was remotely close enough to the striker when the ball reached him and he fired past Wright.

Brentwood continued to create and waste chances, while Hendon huffed and puffed. They weren't helped by an injury to Kezie Ibe, who rolled his ankle during the warm-up but was determined to give it a go - he lasted until half-time, after which he was replaced by Maz Bettache.

Just before the interval, however, Hendon did manage a shot on target. It was Cole who had the effort from just outside the box, but Ollie Bowles - Brentwood's hero in the 1-1 draw 10 days earlier, and man of the match for AFC Sudbury in the FA Cup in September - was equal to the effort, making a very good save.

It took less than two minutes of the second half for Teniola to grab his second, once more profiting from the Hendon defence being out of position.

In the 49th minute, the Greens were back in the game. They attacked down the left side and when the ball was played to Pattie, he struck a fine low shot past Bowles and just inside the far post.

If Hendon could have continued to apply pressure on Brentwood, they might have found themselves level. Instead, nine minutes after drawing level, Bantick was able to beat Wright to restore the Town's two-goal lead.

It became a matter of damage limitation for the Hendon thereafter. With 20 minutes to go, Tingey and Adams replaced Maclaren and Pattie, meaning the 11 who finished the game had an average age two less than the 11 who started (21 to 23). It must be mentioned, however, that at no time was the youthfulness of the team used as an excuse by the management team.

Town continued to set the pace and Wright was kept busy, while Bowles chatted with the fans behind the other goal. Hendon rarely took advantage of what was not a particularly strong Brentwood defence and created very little.

The home team had two loud penalty shouts turned down as the game wound down and, four minutes into added time - tortuous for the visiting supporters - Teniola completed a deserved hat-trick with a powerful downward header.

Hendon still needed one more win to ensure their safety and their fans began to wonder where it would possibly come from.