Hendon, victims of a double against Waltham Abbey, completed a Ryman League double themselves on Tuesday night with a 2-0 defeat over hapless Bognor Regis Town at Vale Farm, sending the Rocks back to the foot of the Premier Division table. Although it would be wrong to describe the Greens' victory as lucky, they did ride their luck at one crucial moment in each half.

With Dave Diedhiou suspended, Hendon made a few changes to the team which had performed so disappointingly against the Abbots on Saturday. James Burgess came in for Diedhiou, Craig Vargas replaced Bradley Thomas and Kevin Maclaren took over from James Bent.

Thomas and Bent moved to the subs bench, where they sat alongside Danny Dyer, James Reading and newcomer Gianni Moratta, a product of the Greens' Middlesex County League team. Bognor had problems of their own with Reading and Brighton & Hove Albion recalling a number of the Rocks players on dual registration for duties in the Coca-League competitions.

Although a dry day had been forecast, the prediction was sadly wrong and the match kicked off in heavy rain, leaving the pitch slick and slippery. The conditions didn't help either team particularly, though it did put a premium on tight control and accurate passing. That said, both teams deserve a lot of credit for producing an open and entertaining game which frequently switched from end to end.

After eight minutes, Bognor really should have taken the lead when Jason Prior was set up by Richard Hudson, but he failed to hit the target. Prior took little further part in the match as, feeling unwell, he was replaced by Charlie Oatway after just 19 minutes. But Bognor came close again when George Barker made a dangerous run and his shot was well saved by Berkley Laurencin.

When Hendon attacked, they like Bognor, tried shooting early in a bid to give the pitch a chance to cause the goalkeeper problems with bad bounces and skids. When Casey Maclaren tried his luck, after 19 minutes, Anthony Ender fumbled the ball away and was able to pounce on it before Lubomir Guentchev could get a touch.

In the 25th minute, Dean refused to give up a lost cause and chased the ball into the right corner, where Ender beat him to it, only to be dispossessed by a clean tackle. The goalkeeper was, obviously, out of position as Dean ran towards goal. Guentchev tried to get free in the penalty area, but he was covered by Lewis Ide, so Dean, from an absurdly acute angle elected to shoot. It wasn't a bad effort, but the ball struck the outside of the near post and went into the side-netting.

A clumsy foul by the older Maclaren could have resulted in a yellow card after 28 minutes, but the referee, who had an excellent game, took the account of the conditions and realised that there was no malice in the challenge.

Hendon gradually took control of the game and efforts from Peter Dean and Guentchev went narrowly wide, while Ender had to make two more saves - awkwardly - from Jamie Busby and Dean.

Ender was happy to punch away crosses and hope that the high defensive line in front of him would keep Hendon forwards far enough away for any rebounds from shots to be gathered at the second attempt. Laurencin, meanwhile, was showing better handling than his opposite number, not only snaring a couple of shots, but making a number of clean catches from teasing crosses.

What proved to be the match's only caution came in the last minute of the first half, Mickey Demetriou receiving a yellow card after a late tackle.

In the 54th minute, Ender nearly gave his team the lead, from nearly 100 yards' range. His drop kick from the edge of his own penalty area sailed through the rainy night sky and deceived Laurencin. The Hendon goalkeeper could do nothing as the ball sailed over him, struck the inside of a post, spun out, then back towards the goal, only for Laurencin to make a desperate grab of the ball before it crossed the line.

Four minutes later, Bognor made a second change, withdrawing Matt Wood and bringing on the veteran Michael Birmingham.

As the half progressed, Hendon became more and more confident, forcing Bognor to look for long balls out of defence for respite. James Parker and Vargas, however, were more than equal to any attacking threat posed by the callow Bognor front men and the ball was, more often than not, soon back in the Rocks' half.

One such clearance, in the 68th minute, released Guentchev, who skipped around Ender and knocked the ball goalwards. He didn't strike it quite hard enough because James Crane made a magnificent clearance inches short of the goal. It only delayed the inevitable by two minutes.

An attack down the Hendon right was not cleared properly and Scott Cousins, effectively allowed to play as a raiding midfielder because Bognor eschewed attacking down his flank, found himself in acres of space. Taking a touch to control the ball and steady himself, Cousins drove a fine shot past Ender into the net to give Hendon the vital breakthrough.

Bognor players' heads dropped as they realised an already difficult task had taken on Herculean proportions. Hendon then withdrew Guentchev and introducted Bent. And it was the substitute who profited from one of the most careless pieces of defending imaginable five minutes later.

Casey Maclaren fouled Dan Beck two yards from the Bognor goalline inside the penalty area but only a couple of yards from the left edge of the box. Birmingham tried to take the free-kick quickly, but the ball was still rolling as he knocked it downfield. The referee spotted the rolling ball and ordered the kick to be retaken.

The ball was returned inaccurately and was passed to Ender. Instead of taking the free-kick from the correct position, he kicked the ball from inside his six-yard box, towards Beck, who was less than 10 yards away - and still three or four yards inside the box.

Beck took two touches of the ball whilst he was still inside the penalty area, something which was spotted by both the referee and his assistant. The kick was ordered to be retaken for a second time.

On this occasion, Beck took it from the correct spot, and he passed the ball - gently and inaccurately - towards Birmingham, who was in the D of the penalty area. Birmingham was determined to ensure the ball went outside the box this time, but slipped as the ball rolled very slowly towards him.

The ball eluded the Bognor substitute and went almost directly to Casey Maclaren. He passed to Dean, who could have gone on himself but, seeing Bent in a better position, passed to him. Bent took one touch and slipped the ball into the net.

Dyer and Thomas replaced Casey Maclaren and Busby for the final few minutes as Hendon wasted a number of excellent chances to give the scoreline a most unflattering look. Ender saved well from Dean and Dyer, while the former fired into the side-netting once and two other efforts whistled narrowly wide of the target.

Hendon boss Gary McCann said, "I said to the players at half-time that the game probably was going to be decided by an error, and I wanted it to be the team in the dressing room next door that felt the pain.

"But if that ball which bounced over Berkley's head had gone in, I am sure our heads would have dropped, just like Bognor's did when we scored.

"My players are putting their bodies, hearts and souls into the games at the moment and there is nothing but appreciation from me for all they are doing. We've got a very tough schedule and they realise that we're all in this together, working for the same thing.

"I am really pleased to get the win tonight. It was good to erase the memory of the two bad results we had at the end of last week."