Hendon showed grit and determination in earning a 1-1 draw against Billericay Town at Earlsmead on Monday night. It was not a night for the faint-hearted and it was a contest that left something of a bitter taste in the mouth.

The Greens gave a debut to work experience teenager Lewis Clark, from Dagenham & Redbridge, and he partnered Elliott Brathwaite at the heart of the back four - at least until the latter saw red just past the half-hour mark. Making way was Andre Da Costa, while Aaron Morgan dropped out the 16 with a severe toothache and Adam Wallace and Peter Dean were both unused as substitutes.

It took less than four minutes for Billericay to take the lead. Roman Michael-Percil did well down the right flank and his low cross brought a loud, if slightly late, shout from Ben McNamara.

The goalkeeper had to come past Elliott Brathwaite and could not hold onto the ball as it deflected off the central defender. The ball fell to Harry Baker, who steadied himself before hooking it into the net from just inside the six-yard box.

A few minutes later, Lee O'Leary made a sliding tackle which, although he won the ball, he also cleaned out the Billericay man in possession. The upshot was a yellow card. Five minutes later, revenge was exacted with a nasty looking challenge that required treatment for O’Leary, but there was no card for his attacker.

O'Leary didn't quite have the last laugh, but in the 17th minute, he played a large part in Hendon's equaliser. He linked well with Kezie Ibe and shot towards goal. It was not a particularly powerful strike, but Ryan Scott, trying to cover, deflected the ball inside the near post for an own goal.

The remainder of the first half was unedifying in the extreme as fouls littered the field. In the eyes of the referee, the worst came from Brathwaite in the 32nd minute and he was shown a straight red.

A disconsolate Brathwaite admitted that he had lunged in, but - in almost the same way as O'Leary - he did win the ball, and unlike O'Leary's challenge, there was no contact with Billericay player.

"If I had made contact with him, I would have expected a red card," Brathwaite said, "and I would have put up my hands (to admit guilt). But he jumped over my tackle after I got the ball. I did deserve a yellow, but I don't think it merited a red."

Just before half-time, O'Leary received another head injury and team-mates immediately rushed to his aid – even before the referee had signalled for the physio. Fortunately, O'Leary was able to continue.

A couple of minutes later, Steve Sheehan committed a nasty foul on the edge of the centre circle in the Hendon half. The referee appeared to be about to issue another caution, but a spat between Dave Diedhiou and Dylan Casey took his attention. Both players were shown yellow cards, as was Sheehan before play resumed.

The players' frustration and their shameless demands for opponents to be shown cards was unseemly, but there did seem to be a great deal of inconsistency in the issue of cautions. If, however, the referee had dismissed four or five players in the first half, there could have been few complaints, and probably fewer than the fact that there had been only one.

Billericay had to make a change in the last minute of first-half normal time when Jack Edwards came on for Cyrus Mahler. Half-time came after only six additional minutes - which was probably a relief for all concerned.

The second half was nothing like as unpleasant as the first, and the referee was able to exert some degree of control. Michael-Percil was very fortunate not to be shown a yellow card as he tried to bring down Sam Murphy, but Casey received no leniency when he pulled down Leon Smith.

A second yellow card, followed by a red, saw Casey's involvement come to an end, so the last 32 minutes was a 10 v 10 contest.

There were few chances at either end as the defences remained on top. Clark, playing alongside emergency centre-half Chris Seeby showed great poise and coolness in the face of all that went on around him.

Hendon's best opportunities fell to Smith, who was well shackled by the Billericay defence, especially when they didn't allow him to turn on the edge of the six-yard box. Kevin Maclaren had a shooting opportunity, but he dallied and then opted to pass out to the wing, while Seeby and Ibe were both narrowly wide with attempts.

Tony Taggart replaced Smith for the final quarter of an hour and he also failed to find the target when given a shooting opportunity. Even if Hendon had been the better team and enjoyed the bulk of possession, Billericay were not without their own chances, but neither team showed anything like enough in the penalty area to merit victory.

Gary McCann was very unhappy with what he watched, "Games of football like that are not what I like to see," he said. "In the dressing room at half-time, I told my players to make the second 45 minutes a much better spectacle.

"We were much better in the second half, but the ball didn't break for us. Once again, we showed our resilience and credentials as a top team.

"But our final ball and decision making in and around the penalty area was found wanting. And, once again, I cannot question the boys' effort and commitment."