Hendon and Hitchin Town played out 90 minutes of stalemate in the AXA-sponsored FA Cup 3rd qualifying round on Saturday afternoon at LOOT Stadium. On the positive side for Hendon, their unbeaten run stretched to four games and it was the third consecutive clean sheet at LOOT Stadium.

The match failed to hit the heights as the tension stifled invention. Manager Dave Anderson vehemently denied that the reward of �10,000 for the tie's winners was the reason for the paucity of play, so the thought of the winners being just 90 minutes away from the first round proper must be the explanation.

After 5 minutes, Davis Haule tried a 25-yard shot, but scuffed it harmlessly wide. He took the wrong option, because Hitchin had overcommitted to their right side and Paul Yates would have been all alone if Haule had played a simple 10-yard pass to him.

In the 8th minute, former Hendon loan player Ian Scott curled a free-kick over and wide of the Hendon target. Three minutes later, good work from Dale Binns set up Eugene Ofori, but his effort was blocked by Scott Cretton, the defender throwing himself at the ball.

Nick Webb then made two diving saves, once to keep out an effort from Phil Ruggles, the other to ensure a shot from Yates did not creep into the corner. The latter intervention was probably unnecessary, but it did look good.

After 15 minutes, with all this having happened, fans settled down for an entertaining afternoon. Sadly, it took 21 minutes for the next noteworthy incident to occur, a snap shot from Ofori which went just over Webb's bar.

Ofori and Tim Allpress then tussled as the Hendon man tried to get around the back of Hitchin defence, but both players had equally good claims that the other had been shirt-pulling. Referee Mr P Randall was correct to say it was six of one and half a dozen of the other.

In the 41st minute, Micky Woolner impeded Shaun Marshall on the edge of the Hendon penalty area and Scott's free-kick was adjudged to have been tipped over the bar by David Hook. From the corner, Hendon's markers went to sleep and allowed Allpress a free header from 8 yards. Luckily for the Dons, the powerful header was throat high and straight at Hook, who caught the ball.

Hendon's two best chances came in the space of 60 seconds early in the second half. Seven minutes into the period, Yates, Woolner and Jon-Barrie Bates combined to make space for Yates to cross. It was deep to just beyond the far post where Haule had lost his marker. The header from a very acute angle would have crept into the net had Webb not produced a fine save.

A minute later, the Hitchin defence was shredded by Haule, Binns and Ruggles' interchange to set up Ofori. He was just 16 yards out with no defenders close to him, but Webb was alert to the danger. He came flying off his line and smothered Ofori's effort with his legs as the striker went for a low shot. Maybe he would have been better attempting to lift the ball over the goalkeeper.

In the 67th minute, Haule again failed to hit the target from a good position. This time he fired the ball into the side-netting. Hendon made two attacking changes in the final quarter. Ross Pickett replacing Ruggles, who starved of the sort of possession he thrives on, and debutant Byron Bubb came on for Paul Yates, the best of Hendon's midfielders.

For all their possession inside the Hitchin half, far too few opportunities were created, because the passing was poor. Hendon's Paul Towler and René Street were rarely stretched at the back as Woolner and Simon Clarke limited Carl Williams and Chris McMenamin's opportunities to deliver telling crosses.

It all nearly went horribly wrong for Hendon in the 81st minute. A back-pass to Hook bounced off a divot and went over the goalkeeper's foot as he attempted to clear. It gave Williams a great chance to score, but Hook just tapped his ankle as the forward attempted to shoot and the 'keeper tried to grab the ball.

Williams stayed on his feet - the assistant referee said he would have flagged for a penalty if the player had gone down - but his stumble was enough to give Hook the chance to put him off and when Williams tried to pass to Darren Sarll, Street slid in to clear the danger.

In the 87th minute, Street rose high to meet a corner from Clarke and sent a header thudding off the foot of the post. The ball bounced back and hit the diving Webb before rolling wide of the goal. But the referee had spotted an infringement. Despite there being one injury and four substitutions, Mr Randall played just 20 seconds of stoppage time.

"Our passing wasn't good today, but we had three good chances to score," said Mr Anderson after the game.