Hendon were brushed aside by a very efficient Weymouth team which showed exactly why they are top of the table. For the Greens, the 3-0 defeat left them two points above the drop zone, though they are just five points below Merthyr Town, who sit eighth.

Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick, who missed the Basingstoke victory with a slight muscle strain, returned, while Connor Calcutt and Lewis Toomey switched starting and substitute roles, the former in the No.9 shirt. On the bench, the other change saw new signing Bilal Sayoud take over from Danny Boness, who has returned to Hemel Hempstead Town after his loan period came to an end.

Having enjoyed success with long-range shooting in the first fixture between the teams 11 days earlier, the Terras tried their luck early on, but they didn’t have the accuracy to trouble Andy McCorkell. However, from a second minute corner, the goalkeeper made an excellent save from Brandon Goodship.

Calvin Brooks was a constant thorn in Hendon's side with his marauding runs down the right side, where he combined well with Yemi Odubade. When Brooks tried his luck from long range after 11 minutes, the ball flew high and wide of the target.

Hendon were not without their own attacking moments and, after 16 minutes, Ryan Hope tried his luck from 20 yards. His effort was on target but was saved comfortably by Tom McHale.

Goodship, who is the only Step 3 player to be called into Paul Fairclough's England C squad for their match later this month, was in fine form, setting up two goals and hitting a post too. In the 31st minute, after good approach play by Brooks, Goodship delivered a perfect low cross into the path of Ben THOMPSON, who side-footed the ball into the net with no defender close to him.

Hendon probably should have had a penalty a couple of minutes later when Hippolyte-Patrick cut in from the left side and appeared to be tripped a step inside the penalty area. The defender didn't appear to make contact with the ball, but neither the referee nor his assistant saw anything untoward.

Eight minutes before the break, a neat curling cross from Sergio Manesio picked out Calcutt, who headed over. Then, from a long throw by Lee Chappell, Luke Tingey lifted a shot towards the top corner, but McHale was able to catch the ball at full stretch just below the crossbar.

This suggests that Hendon may have been on top but that was not the case. The Terras controlled most of the game and created most of the openings, but McCorkell made a couple of routine saves and Jacob Gardiner-Smith, Tingey, Bayley Brown and Chappell repelled most Weymouth raids where Odubade, Goodship and Obdulai Baggie saw plenty of possession.

In first-half stoppage time, Josh Wakefield went down and was helped from the field. Such was the nature of his injury that the Terras; bench didn't even wait for the interval to give him the chance to recover or receive extra treatment because Cameron Murray came on for Wakefield.

Weymouth continued to set the pace in the second half and the Hendon midfield of Manesio, Hope, Charlie Smith and Matty Harriott were forced to do most of their work too deep in their own territory to be able to release Calcutt and Hippolyte-Patrick.

The Terras created a handful of chances, but none were particularly clear-cut or they lacked the incisive pass or shot to double their advantage. That, however, changed in the 64th minute.

There was a tinge of controversy about the goal because, at the other end of the pitch, it appeared that Hippolyte-Patrick had been fouled. With no whistle to stop play, the ball was switched to the Terras right wing, where Baggie got the better of Chappell.

Baggie’s low ball into the penalty area picked out ODUBADE, who lost his marker and fired past McCorkell. It nearly got worse for the Greens when Goodship smashed a shot off a post, but the rebound favoured Hendon and was cleared away from danger.

Hendon made their three changes for the final 20 minutes, Ogo Obi replacing Hope and newcomer Sayoud taking from Smith. The last change saw Toomey come on for Calcutt, but they could not change the direction of the game.

A minute from the end, Weymouth got their third goal. Once more Goodship was able to find himself in acres of space and he delivered a perfectly-weighted pass into the path of Brooks. McCorkell came off his line, but BROOKS beat him and rolled the ball into the net.

For all their efforts, a 3-0 defeat was a tad harsh on Hendon, but there is little doubt that Weymouth had been comfortably the better team. The Greens' first-half domination of the game at Silver Jubilee Park a few days earlier seemed a very long time ago.