Hendon's desperate run of bad form continued against high-flying Braintree Town at Claremont Road on Saturday afternoon. Having dominated the first half, the Greens put in a lacklustre second half show to end up well beaten.

Only three times in the last 13 league matches have Hendon kept a clean sheet in even a half and the Greens have lost of these last 12 games to slip deep into the Ryman League Premier Division relegation zone.

With Dave King suffering from flu and James Courtnage a groin problem, Darren Bonfield became Hendon's fourth different goalkeeper in six matches, while Gary Meakin and James Burgess came in for the injured Rob Courtnage and Andy Sherry and fit-again Dean Coppard took over from René Street.

The reshuffled defence was put under early pressure and Bonfield did well to smother the ball as James Baker bore down on him in the third minute. After that, however, it was Hendon who enjoyed must the best of the next 30 minutes.

In the eighth minute, Eugene Ofori outmuscled Mark Jones deep in the Braintree half out on the right touchline. Iron players and officials screamed for a free-kick, but Northants referee Roger Burton, who allowed an awful lot of physical contact all afternoon, let play continue.

Ofori ran into the penalty area and laid the ball back into the path of Mark NICHOLLS, whose first-time shot struck the foot of defender Paul Lorraine, doing just enough to cause Danny Gay's dive to go over the ball and it squirmed into the net.

Gay was clearly unsettled by the rather soft goal and he came vainly for a cross four minutes later and was very relieved to watch Ross Pickett's looping header drop just behind the crossbar and on the roof of the net.

Next to try his luck was John Frendo, who tricked his way past Lorraine and got a clear sight of goal. However, he rushed the effort and blasted it high and wide of the target when precision and calmness would almost certainly have doubled Hendon's lead. He was unlucky in the 28th minute when a clean header beat Gay, but was hacked off the goalline by Billy Burgess.

Bonfield made a good save from Alex Revell after 29 minutes and, a couple of minutes later, Meakin cleared a header from the goalline. Nevertheless, Hendon still enjoyed plenty of possession and were probably still on top.

In the 38th minute, a bad tackle by James Burgess on Dave Bridges resulted a yellow card for the Hendon acting-captain and treatment for the Braintree midfielder. He was not able to shake of the injury and, in the last minute of the half, was replaced by Ellis Remy. Most teams would have waited until the interval to see if the injured player could recover and/or to give his replacement the chance to warm up fully.

George Borg's instant decision proved to be match-turning. Remy's first invovlement was to outjump James Burgess and head the ball out to the right wing and Mark Graham. The former QPR player was given too much time and space by Dave Sargent and the cross which followed eluded Bonfield's leap. Neither Jason O'Connor nor Coppard tracked REVELL's run, with the result the big striker was able to head home, unchallenged, from an acute angle beyond the far post.

From a Hendon perspective, the second half was pretty much a non-event. Braintree added to their lead in the 55th minute, when BAKER rose head home a near post corner. Although Bonfield came for the ball, the quality of the header was such he would almost certainly have not been able to make a save had he stayed on his line.

Ten minutes later, a third Braintree goal arrived via the aerial route. REMY was the beneficiary on this occasion and although Bonfield made a desperate attempt to save the ball, the assistant referee ruled the ball had crossed the line before he gathered it.

Danny Julienne replaced Richard McDonagh after 66 minutes and he looked quite bright and Joe Nartey (for Pickett), back after three years away, and Dave Hunt (for Frendo), returning after three months on loan at Hertford, were introduced in the final quarter-hour, but they could not make any impact. Braintree could have scored many more, but they comfortably saw out time.

Symptomatic of the Greens problem was the complete waste of good positions. All but one second-half cross was next touched by a Braintree player and on that lone occasion, Meakin's cross died on Frendo, who chested the ball down as he was challenged by Gay and the ball bounced away harmlessly.

Assistant manager Mark Nicholls said, "Confidence is something we are lacking at the moment. Unfortunately, you cannot walk to a player and give him confidence in a packet."