Hendon took a huge step towards easing their relegation fears with a gutsy 2-0 victory over Maidstone United at Earlsmead, Harrow, on Saturday afternoon. The match was far from a classic, but with the Stones on the edge of the playoffs and the Greens too close to the relegation zone for comfort, there was much to play for and the tension got the better of both teams.

There was just one change to the 11 who started and demolished Tooting & Mitcham United in the London Senior Cup on Monday night, James Parker returning to the team at the expense of Peter Dean.

Nothing of note happened in the first quarter, although Maidstone were having the better of the exchanges, apart from a penalty appeal for handball against Mark Kirby after 14 minutes. It was waved away by the referee, but it was probably a close-run thing for Hendon.

In the 22nd minute, James Pinnock found an opening. He fired a shot that beat William Viner but it was just off target. A minute later, Lloyd Blackman did well to turn around Mark Kirby. He was at an acute angle, and aimed his shot at the far post. The effort, however, flew across the face of the goal and out for a throw by the corner flag. However, referee saw things differently and awarded the Greens a goal kick.

In the 28th minute, the assistant referee spotted a foul by Kirby on Pinnock just outside the angle of the penalty area. The ball was curled into the box and Ryan Royston's headed effort flew off the top of the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

Within 60 seconds, an almost identical foul, by Maidstone's James Peacock on Brian Haule, had a more serious consequence. It was in the referee's line of vision and, more importantly, inside the penalty area.

The official had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot and any protests by visiting defenders were silenced by the referee's explanation of what he had seen. Most of the protests were, in any case, about the penalty not awarded at the other end earlier in the game.

Andy Walker tried to distract penalty-taker Jamie Busby by claiming the ball was not properly on the spot, and the referee made sure the ball was correctly placed. Busby, however, did not appear to be fazed by the gamesmanship as he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way with a confident and powerful strike.

That, it turned out, was the only shot on target in the whole of the first half, unless a long cross from Steve Elliott which was caught by Viner under no pressure, or a looping header from Meshach Nugent - again gathered without trouble by the Hendon keeper - could be construed as goalbound efforts.

The discipline on the field was not great and Maidstone had two players cautioned for fouls, Roland Edge after 38 minutes for a foul on Busby as he threatened to break clear of the defence and Peacock on the stroke of half-time. The former incident sparked a melee involving a number of players, but no other cards were shown by the referee after it had calmed down.

As the players, management of both sides and match officials were walking off the pitch at half-time, there was an altercation on the pitch between the two managers. A few players came to join in or act as peacemakers, but the situation was quickly defused. As a consequence of what he had seen, Maidstone joint-manager Lloyd Hume was not allowed back in the dug out in the second half by the referee.

Before the second half kicked off, Hendon made a change, Glenn Garner being replaced by Harry Hunt.

Two minutes into the second half, Sam Collins fired in a low shot which Walker was able to turn aside for a corner. Hendon then enjoyed a good spell for five minutes, but Collins' shot proved to be the only real chance in that period.

As well as Nathan Paul, Elliott, Peacock and James Hawkins were playing in the Maidstone defence, they were outshone by the Hendon quartet of James Burgess, Craig Vargas, Kirby and James Parker. In front of the Greens quartet, Kevin Maclaren and James Bent were equally good, allowing Collins and Busby to forage in more forward positions.

In the 53rd minute, Burgess was surprised by some deft footwork from Pinnock and he caught the striker. It certainly didn't appear to be malicious but it was a mistimed challenge that undoubtedly merited a caution which Burgess accepted without complaint. Unfortunately for the Stones, Pinnock was not able to play much more part in the game as the foul resulted in a knee injury and he was replaced by Keelan Mooney.

Jay Saunders and Hawkins were the third and fourth Maidstone players to make their way into the referee's notebook as the Stones' desperation became keener and keener. Nugent earned a free-kick on the edge of the Hendon penalty area when a long clearance from Walker resulted in Parker being penalised.

Indicative of the way things were going for Maidstone was quality of the free-kick, which didn't breach the wall and the rebound was struck high and wide.

In the 82nd minute, Maidstone finally put a good effort on target. A ball from the right wing was not properly cleared and it fell to Hawkins. His strike went through a crowd of players, meaning that Viner did not see it until the last moment. Nonetheless the goalkeeper rose acrobatically and pushed the ball away, over the crossbar and out for a corner.

With two minutes of normal time remaining, Hendon made the game safe. Sam Collins received the ball from a Busby corner. He was a couple of strides inside the penalty area when Nathan Paul illegally stopped his run. Hawkins was the only Maidstone player to complain about the decision, as his team-mates lined up for the spot-kick resigned to their fate.

Busby's second penalty was not as good as his first, but because Walker guessed incorrectly, it did not matter.

In the second of the five minutes of stoppage time, Hawkins committed another foul and, this time, the referee made it very clear to the defender that one more offence would result in a red card. However, with Maidstone accepting their fate, there was no need for the defender to be further involved.

"Sometimes you have to win ugly," said manager Gary McCann "and today was one of those days.

"Our passing wasn't at its best and if we had made some better decisions we would have scored more goals. Our back five today was magnificent."