Hendon could count themselves quite lucky to win this match, as Basingstoke certainly could have earned, and deserved a draw, but the Dons could, and should have demolished their opponents soon into the match.

The pitch was barely playable, a decision only being made at about 1:30, and the wind played havoc with the ball in the air, meaning that the conditions had a great bearing on the game.

Hendon started brightly, and in fact, it only took four minutes for a goal to come. An early attack was cleared behind by a yellow shirt, despite the defender having plenty of time and space to control the ball. A cross was floated in from the resulting corner, and it seemed to be quite safe, but the wind caught the ball, and swung it in to the goal towards Whitmarsh, who jumped over the static Rowe to nod the ball into the net for an easy lead.

Basingstoke then took the initiative however, and mounted an siege on Hendon's goal for five minutes or so, but creating very little. Hendon then broke, and a cross came in from Dale Binns on the left flank.

The ball was again passing safely across the front of the goal and was left by Rowe, who should have caught it as it came across in front of him, and was nodded in by Harris, one of the Stoke's centre-backs.

Just over ten minutes, and a couple of suspect challenges later, the Don's lead was halved, No.9, Goreman seizing the chance from close range. This made Hendon realise that they hadn't yet won the game, and so they again attacked the Basingstoke goal.

Yet again, a fluffed clearance from the poor defence of Basingstoke gave Hendon an unnecessary corner, and they were again punished, this time by John Daly, who headed across the goal from the far post. The final touch came from Morely, Harris' partner at the back, but Daly claimed the goal.

There was far more action, including McCann fumbling several times, a shot from White which just went over the bar, and a second good chance for Whitmarsh, but he seemed to be pulled away from the ball, and couldn't quite get his shot in.

The second half again started brightly for the Dons, and an excellent solo effort from Binns only three minutes into the half seemed to seal a victory for Hendon at 4-1.

Basingstoke hadn't read this script though, as for most of the remaining 40 minutes, they looked far the better side, despite several chances for the Dons to seal another league victory.

Chances were spurned by Whitmarsh and Gentle, both of who had weak shots easily gathered, and Gentle also slipped over twice when given a shooting chance. Maran also nearly found his way onto the score sheet, but just shot wide of the near post with a solo run.

Basingstoke didn't always look entirely convincing going forward either, and neither of their two goals in the second half would be likely of winning a goal-of-the-month award, but still, two similar goals from Julian Sills and Mancey won Basingstoke the right to fight for the last six minutes for a draw.

Hendon however suddenly realised that the three points could be about to slip away, and managed to control most of the last few minutes.