Hendon 2-2 Dulwich Hamlet

A controversial 89th minute goal from Jordan Hibbert rescued a valuable point for The Hamlet in their play off quest.

This was a game where it's hard to decide if it was one point gained or two points lost.

Playing into the wind in the first half, Dulwich had much the better of proceedings without really threatening a goal. Ashley Carew shot over from the edge of the box in the 11th minute and Harry Ottaway turned well in the 14th minute , but his shot was easily held by McNamara in the home goal.

Albert Jarrett was getting plenty of joy on the flanks and produced a great 22nd minute cross that found nobody attacking it in the box. Jordan Hibbert then struck a viciously swerving shot from 25 yards that McNamara did well to hold at full stretch to his left.

Hendon were finally seen as an attacking force after half an hour, a clever free kick into the box picked out the run of Leon Smith but Jordan Hibbert was alert to the danger and blocked the effort at the expense of a corner.

The next action saw Hendon reduced to 10 men in the 38th minute as James Fisher's heavy tackle on Luke Wanadio was adjudged to be worthy of a straight red card.

However, in the remaining first half time, Dulwich couldn't create anything more than a Harry Ottaway effort that cleared the bar.

Half Time 0-0

Dulwich were quickly in front at the start of the second half as Xavier Vidal turned on the edge of the penalty area and rifled a shot across McNamara and into the far bottom corner of the net.

Two minutes later an Ashley Carew free kick from the Dulwich right found its way to Albert Jarrett at the far post but his effort was blocked for a corner.

However, Dulwich then rather lost their way,giving away a number of free kicks that allowed Hendon to build pressure and this culminated in them levelling the scores in the 63rd minute.

Harry Ottaway chased back as a Hendon player was allowed to progress unopposed from half way inside his own half but only succeeded in bringing him crashing down in the penalty area. Sam Murphy stepped up and scored emphatically from the spot.

Now it was Hendon who were in the ascendancy as their ten men were quicker to the ball than an increasingly lethargic Hamlet, and they got their reward with 9 minutes remaining. A poor defensive clearance was crossed to the far post where the unmarked Dave Diedhou headed past Phil Wilson.

Falling behind brought Dulwich back to life and McNamara had to be back pedal to clutch an audacious effort from Ashley Carew right on the line.

In the last minute of normal time, Dulwich grabbed an equaliser from an unlikely source. Jordan Hilbert, who had been playing out of position at left back, picked up the ball half way inside the Hendon half, advanced a few yards forward and hit a shot that dipped and swerved past McNamara and crashed down off the underside of the bar and back into play,

Dulwich fans and players were convinced it had come down behind the line before bouncing back into play and, following.a consultation between the referee and his assistant, this was a view they shared and Dulwich had their equaliser.

In the few minutes of stoppage time, it was Dulwich who now looked most likely to grab a winner. A low driven cross from Ashley Carew saw Kevin James slide in and miss the ball by a whisker in front of an empty net and, with the last kick of the match, McNamara just managed to hold a shot by Carew

Full Time 2-2