Hendon entertained Vanarama National League Premier Division Ebbsfleet United, who sent almost all of their first-team squad to Silver Jubilee Park in Tuesday nighs preseason friendly. The match was a thoroughly entertaining affair and it ended 3-2 in Ebbsfleet's favour, a not unreasonable reflection on the game.

That said, the Hendon performance overall was excellent, against a team two levels higher than them. It is also true that the Greens did have a number of moments of good fortune in defence and, being a friendly, the match counted for nothing.

For the first 20 minute, Hendon were on top, Zak Joseph and Niko Muir combining well up front, with Keagan Cole prompting from behind the pair.

The opening goal was a superb piece of football, Cole playing the ball into the penalty area from the left side and Muir finishing with a strike into the bottom corner, giving Jon Miles no chance of making a save.

From then on, Ebbsfleet upped the tempo and asked some serious questions of the Hendon backline. Luke Tingey was forced to supplement centre-backs Rian Bray and Arthur Lee and full-backs Sam Murphy and Jake Eccleston.

Just before half-time a cross from Sean Shields looped over Montel Joseph and was cleared by Lee, using the unorthodox route of the underside of his own crossbar to get the ball away from danger. A minute or so later, another goalmouth scramble saw Tingey clear the ball off the line.

Ten minutes into the second half, Ebbsfleet drew level when the veteran Danny Kedwell curled a shot just inside Joseph’s far post.

The goalkeeper, who had already pulled off a couple of good saves, made two more in the second half as Ebbsfleet replaced their starting strikers, with what may be their first-choice front two, Darren McQueen and Danny Mills.

Most of the Hendon changes came in midway through the second half (Tingey having made way for Malachy McGovern at half-time), with Lewis Davis, Ashley Nathaniel-George, Cameron Currie, Andre Da Costa, Leo Pedro, Tarum Dawkins and Charlie Kuehn taking over from Murphy, Daniel Uchechi, Eggleton, Muir, Cole, Zak Joseph and Lee, respectively.

In the 62nd minute, Andre Da Costa worked himself an opening and fired a power drive which forced Miles into an excellent full length save.

With 12 minutes remaining, McQueen gave Ebbsfleet the lead finishing off powerfully after a flow move which included a contribution from former Hendon loanee Jack Connors.

In the 82nd minute, Nathaniel-George had the chance to equalise, but he put his powerful drive just wide of the target. And it proved a costly miss - if there can be such a thing in a friendly - because within a minute, Mills had turned in a cross at the far post to make it 3-1.

There was a sting in the tale, because, with three minutes remaining, Lewis Davis scored an excellent second Hendon goal, his bending drive finding the bottom corner. The Greens had time to get an equaliser, but Ebbsfleet were able to hold out for the last few minutes.