Hendon reached the second qualifying round of the FA Cup after avoiding the potential banana skin of a tie against opposition three levels lower than them. For almost an hour, everything went exactly to the Hendon script, but the final half-hour was a distinctly bumpy ride.

On loan striker Kayan Kalipha made his first start at the expense of James Bent, who dropped to the seven-man bench which included new signings Festus Mansaray, formerly with Hayes & Yeading and a one-time Leicester City junior, and Richard Wilmot, the goalkeeper who returns for a fourth spell, this time from Cambridge City. Also on the bench, for the first time this season, was Rakatahr Hudson, who had missed the first month of the campaign with an injury.

Both teams started adventurously and there were four shots on goal in the opening dozen minutes, two for each team, but only an effort from Sam Byfield was on target. That was spectacularly pushed aside by Richard Barlow for a corner which came to nothing.

Byfield's next shot at goal, after 13 minutes, didn't have the power of his first attempt but it set up Hendon's opening goal. The ball was half blocked by a lunging defender and fell into the path of Charlie Mapes, 12 yards from goal.

Mapes took one touch to control the ball and smacked the ball into the bottom corner, well clear of the goalkeeper's vain dive. It was just the start that Hendon needed.

Royston play in the Molten Spartan South Midlands League Division One and the gap in class was obvious only in the ability of Hendon's players to make off-the-ball runs. The Greens' passing was distinctly off-colour and the harrying and chasing of the Crows players meant Hendon were only an errant pass or poor challenge from ceding their advantage.

In pre-match warm-ups, Royston forwards had shown a propensity for driving free-kicks into the net off the underside of the crossbar but, in the match itself, when a chance such as this presented itself after 27 minutes, Robins mishit the ball directly at Berkley Lawrencin.

A lesson in how to take such free-kicks was given by Mapes, ten minutes later. Following a foul on Byfield 22 yards from goal in a central position, Mapes curled the free-kick over the defensive wall and into the net a foot under the crossbar and a similar distance from the goalkeeper's right post.

Two minutes later, it was 3-0. Lubo Guentchev beat three defenders on a run from the right wing. He got to the by-line and looked a for an open teammate. With none immediately visible, he turned diagonally back upfield to improve his own angle. Barlow was a long way across his goal,giving Guentchev a good couple of yards of target at the near post. He needed no second bidding and by the time Barlow had covered his angle, the ball was nestling in the net behind him.

A half-time score of 3-0 was rather flattering to Hendon, who had been on top but hardly dominant. More worrying were the three yellow cards picked up by Kevin Maclaren for a foul, Craig Vargas for not retreating at a free-kick and Mapes for persistent misconduct. Royston's only caution was for Ross Collins, who did not appear for the second half, replaced by Craig Hammond. During the second half Hendon boss Gary McCann withdrew all three of his cautioned players.

Hendon wasted two chances to extend their lead early in the second half, but they did get a fourth goal nine minutes after the restart. Jamie Busby strolled his way through three lunging tacklesand when confronted by Barlow confidently struck the ball past him.

That should have been game over and a comfortable final 35 minutes in the warm Hertfordshire sunshine. That it wasn't shows just how fragile Hendon's confidence is at present.

In the 65th minute, a challenge from Leach on Hammond cleanly won the ball, sending it back to Lawrencin, who picked it up. The referee, however, ruled it was a back-pass and penalised the goalkeeper, who dropped the ball where he had offended. In a flash, Hammond rushed to the ball and knocked it across the six-yard box to the waiting Will Turl. He was denied a goal by Leach's stretch for the ball which, unfortunately for him, ended just inside the far post for an own goal.

At 4-1 Hendon still should have been comfortable but, five minutes later, the lead was two goal as the Greens were victimised by one of the goals of the season. Robins picked up the ball justinside the Hendon half with few options in front of him.

He went on a 40-yard run which took him past five defenders and a clear sight of goal. Lawrencin came off his line, but Robins struck a firm low shot past him for a personal moment of glory which he will probably never replicate.

In the next ten minutes, Hendon gave a stern examination of the Royston defence and they just about passed. After 76 minutes, Byfield was denied by a good save from Barlow, as was substitute Danny Dyer three minutes later. In between, from a corner struck to the D of the penalty area, Mark Kirby headed the ball forward and Leach thudded another header against the crossbar.

In the 80th minute Robins nearly scored a second goal, but Lawrencin made a good save. The goalkeeper was then nearly embarrassed by a long-range low shot that kicked off the ground and was gathered at head height.

The second half had become increasingly niggly with the Crows' Lewis Endacott extremely fortunate not toreceive a yellow card for a couple of very poor challenges. They, however,paled into insignificance in the face of the 88th-minute lunge by Busby on Endacott. Royston players remonstrated with the referee demanding action, but there was no need for them to do so; the official had no decision to make; it was a very dangerous tackle and the red card was inevitable. Royston were also reduced to ten men as Endacott was unable to continue, and had to leave the ground on crutches. The Crows had already made their three substitutions.

With four minutes of stoppage time to negotiate, Hendon pulled the three used substitutes, Hudson, Dyer and the recently introduced Mansaray, into more defensive positions, setting up two walls of four in front of Lawrencin. It was enough to ensure that Royston didn't have a look a goal and time was seen out without further alarms.

"I wasn't happy with our performance," said Mr McCann, "and the boys were made very much aware of how I felt at half-time. I don't think we passed the ball well and 3-0 up at half-time flattered us. Even at 4-2 we had enough chances to pull away again.

"The one good thing was that we set ourselves the target of being in the next round at the end of the game and we achieved that."

(Report By David Ballheimer - Not to be reproduced without the author's permission)