In the second game, Hendon never got started. Even so, it took a wickedly deflected shot in the last seconds of the half for St Joseph's to take the lead. Despite the best efforts of emergency centre-forward Andrew VINCENT, normally a goalkeeper but forced to go up front because of a shortage of players, Hendon could not fashion an equaliser and, with 3 minutes to go, a defensive blunder gave St Joseph's a second goal. Manager Dave Merrilees said, "The day summed up our season. We were superb in one game and lost in the next. But to do it on one day was unbelievable."

Hendon Under-16s' season could be encapsulated in Sunday's double-header against St Joseph's. In one game they are confident, capable and a threat to any team in the Harrow Youth League; in the other, they are easy meat for any opponent. In the opening game, despite conceding a goal after just 12 seconds, Hendon were on top for the rest of the hour. Man of the match Samuel JOHNSON equalised after 8 minutes and Hendon took the lead in 18th minute when Cedric LAKOLE-MUHEME converted a penalty. Twelve minutes into the second half, Adrian TUITT floated in a free-kick which deceived the goalkeeper and went into the net untouched. With 10 minutes to go, substitute Ryan NELSON made it 4-1. Five minutes later, Mark Rees was desperately unlucky to be penalised for handball in his own penalty area, but justice was done as the spot-kick was blasted wide of af Alex Andreou's goal.

Hendon Under-16s recorded their first victory over Harrow St Mary's at this age group when they scored 3 second half goals without reply on Sunday morning. Prince KOMKEROOLA gave Hendon the lead after 7 minutes, but Harrow St Mary's equalised 4 minutes later. Almost from the kick-off Hendon went down to the other end and Lloyd BARZEY restored the advantage. Ten minutes later, Harrow equalised again, only for Mark REES to give Hendon their third lead of the game after 31 minutes. Three minutes before half-time, the see-saw bounced back towards Harrow St Mary's who scored their 3rd goal. Seven minutes into the second half, REES bagged his second goal and, this time, there was no comeback. Ryan NELSON stretched the advantage in the 66th minute and, with 2 minutes to go, substitute Arksel MEHA scored with his first touch. Hendon, who were excellent value for their victory, also had 4 goals disallowed for offside. Manager Dave Merrilees said, "I am very satisfied with the result, especially in the second half. It was good to see Daniel HILTON-OWEN and Gabriel MARFO making their combacks after long spells out injured. Man of the match today was Samuel JOHNSON."

Hendon Under-16s produced a performance that had Jeckyll & Hyde written all over it. A totally dominant first half performance produced only a 2-0 lead, Ryan NELSON (13 minutes) and Lloyd BARZEY (16, his first goal for the club), but it should have been many, many more. Eight minutes into the second half, Wembley reduced the arrears and then proceeded to lay siege on Hendon's goal. They hit the bar, hit the post, had efforts cleared off the line and saw one shot stop before the goalline, but the equaliser would not come. Then, in the 4th minute of stoppage time, Hendon broke away and Andrew FREEMAN scored to make it 3-1. "At half-time, I told the team that 2-0 up was my least favourite score," admitted a relieved manager Dave Merrilees. "All too often if you concede an early second-half goal after leading 2-0 you go on to lose the match. This is very nearly what happened to us. We were very good in the first half and incredibly lucky to hang on in the second."

Hendon Under-16s had a bad day at the office on Sunday morning. In a performance that had manager Dave Merrilees raging, they conceded goals at the start and end of the opening half. Hendon clawed their way back into the game when Mark REES reduced the arrears after 53 minutes. However, they gave back the 2-goal advantage 5 minutes later and, with 20 minutes to go, conceded a 4th goal. "I don't know what went wrong today," admitted a furious Mr Merrilees. "Apart from Mark REES not one player performed to anywhere near the level they are capable of. Some of them thought that, after some good performances recently, they only needed to turn up to win, but it doesn't work that way."

Hendon Under-16s had a great chance of completing a double over Ealing Shamrock on Sunday morning, but in the end were buried under an avalanche of late goals. The opener came from Ealing Shamrock in the first half, but after 54 minutes, Walid HUSSEIN snatched an equaliser. With 25 minutes to go, the game could have gone either way, but the deteriorating conditions worked in favour of Ealing Shamrock. Four times the last line of Hendon defence could not deal with balls bouncing of the turf and Ealing Shamrock players took advantage to score goals. Man of the match for Hendon was Paul O'BRIEN.

Hendon Under-16s continued their fine run of recent form with a 3-1 Harrow Youth League Premier Division defeat of previously unbeaten LNER St George's. The match was switched to the LNER ground, but it did not stop Hendon reversing the 3-1 defeat suffered early in the season. Things did not look good at the start when LNER took advantage of a Ryan Nelson shot cannoning off the crossbar to launch an attack of their own and open the scoring. Five minutes later, NELSON gained a measure of revenge by scoring the equaliser and Hendon took the lead for good in the 33rd minute when Ben BOUCHNAK scored. In the 57th minute Andrew FREEMAN scored Hendon's third with a delicious lob and the woodwork rescued LNER for the second time, in the 63rd minute, when Walid Hussein hit a post. It was not all one-way traffic as was proved by manager Dave Merrilees' choice as man-of-the-match: it was goalkeeper Andrew Vincent for the second week in a row. "Andrew made 4 great saves," said Mr Merriless. "I must also mention my reshaped defence of Michael VERISSIMO, Arksel MEHA and Gabriel MARFO, who were superb in the back 3. We are now capable of playing and beating the best in the League."

Hendon Under-16s, a week after downing the defending Harrow Youth League Champions and League Cup holders Ealing Shamrock, collected a point from an away draw against this year's League Cup finalists Omonia on Sunday morning. Sloppy defending resulted in a corner for Omonia in the 7th minute and this kick was not dealt with either, leaving a home player with a simple tap-in for the opening goal. The early setback galvanised Hendon, but the turning point was a tactical switch by manager Dave Merrilees, who moved sweeper Gabriel Marfo into an attacking role. Within a minute, MARFO had scored the equaliser and he thought he had scored the winner in the second half when he outumped Omonia's goalkeeper to head home. The referee, however, penalised Marfo for a foul and disallowed the goal. "We did well today," said a satisfied Mr Merrilees, "but it was a little bit of 'after the Lord Mayor's Show' following last week's result. Man of the match was goalkeeper Andrew VINCENT."

Hendon manager Dave Merrilees considered himself to be somewhere near cloud 11 after Saturday morning's victory over Ealing Shamrock. A former member of Ealing Shamrock, Mr Merrilees has watched this age-group team carry all before them for 4 seasons. In his estimation, they had lost 1 game in the previous 82 - a 2-1 reverse against St Josephs in 1999-2000 - League and League Cup fixtures, and they had scored in all of them. So a clean sheet from goalkeeper Alex ANDRIOU, in addition to the victory, made this a very special day for Mr Merrilees and Hendon. The first half saw Ealing Shamrock have the hill and gusting wind in their favour but they could not score. The closest they came was an effort which Arksel MEHA cleared off the line. In the second half, Hendon made the breakthrough int he 47th minute. A cross from the wing was met by Andrew FREEMAN, who launched a 20-yard, first-time screamer that flew into the net before the goalkeeper could even move. Desperate to keep their proud record intact, Ealing Shamrock became more and more desperate, but they could not get an equaliser. "This is the best result I have had at Hendon," said an ecstatic Mr Merrilees. "I was assistant manager when we won the League Cup in 1998, but this is much better. We went uphill and into the wind in the first half and we rode our luck a little, but in the second half, we really did well and thoroughly deserved to win the game. My man of the match was Gabriel MARFO, followed very closely by Arksel MEHA. Credit also must go to Alex ANDRIOUS."

Hendon Under-16s went out of the Middlesex County Youth Cup at the quarter-final stage with a narrow loss against Buckinghamshire side Beaconsfield SYCOB on Sunday morning. They made the perfect start when Man of the Match Walid HUSSEIN gave Hendon the lead in just the 8th minute. Despite a lot of pressure a second goal would not come and, with just about the last touch of the first half, Beaconsfield equalised. The second half was a real battle and the home team took the spoils when they score the match-winner with only 8 minutes to go.

Hendon Under-16s ended their losing streak at Clitterhouse Playing Fields on Sunday morning after switching their away Harrow Youth League fixture against Wingate & Finchley to a home one. The hero of the 4-0 victory was Ryan NELSON, who bagged all four goals as well as the man of the match award. NELSON scored after 18 minutes and again 4 minutes before the break. Eight minutes into the second half NELSON completed his hat-trick. NELSON needed only 10 more minutes to make it a 4-timer, but it was not all one-way traffic. In the last 5 minutes, a desperate scramble in the Hendon penalty area saw Alex ANDRIOU produce 2 stunning saves and Michael Verissimo one. Unfortunately for VERISSIMO, along with Mark REES, outstanding performers on the day, he is not a goalkeeper, so he received a red card for his save. ANDRIOU, meanwhile produced another great penalty save. "We did very well today," said manager Dave Merrilees. "It is a real shame for Verissimo, but he was desperate that we kept a clean sheet."

Hendon Under-16s suffered another defeat on Sunday morning when Wembley scored 2 late goals to run out 3-1 winners at Clitterhouse Playing Fields. Adding to Hendon's misery was a serious ankle injury picked up by Gabriel MARFO early in the second half. After a goalless first half, Wembley were quick into their stride after the restart and took the lead after 43 minutes. Four minutes later Marfo went down and there were fears that he had broken his ankle. It was 15 minutes before he could be taken from the field and manager Dave Merrilees took back to the clubhouse to administer further treatment. While he was away Ryan NELSON equalised after 58 minutes, but goals with 13 and 6 minutes to play saw Wembley come out on top. "I can tell you all about the first half," said Mr Merrilees. "But with Gabriel's injury, I didn't see much of the second half. It made things very awkward for the boys. On what I saw. Mark REES was man of the match. Thankfully, it looks as if Gabriel's injury was not as bad as was first feared."

Hendon Under-16s battled hard in this Harrow Youth League Premier Division fixture at Clitterhouse Playing Fields on Sunday morning but, having gone a goal behind after 13 minutes, they just could not pull it back. It was not for the want of chances, simply they weren't taken. "It was very disappointing to lose today," said manager Dave Merrilees, "but our man of the match today was goalkeeper Alex ALEXANDRIOU."

Hendon reached the next round of the Middlesex Youth Cup with a comprehensive 8-1 rout of Staines Lammas at Clitterhouse Playing Fields on Sunday morning. They did it the hard way, though, coming from a goal down. Staines took the lead after 13 minutes, but Hendon levelled matters with a beautifully curled free-kick from Ben BOUCHNAK two mintues later. In the 24th minute, Hendon took the lead through Price KOMKEROOLA. Three minutes before half-time, Gabriel MARFO made it 3-1, just the breathing space they needed. In the 47th minute, left-sided midfielder Andrew FREEMAN extended the lead further and Rafael GRANT scored the next one in the 54th minute, scoring with his customary header. However, Grant hurt himself in scoring and Adrian TUITT came on. He scored in the 66th minute and TUITT became the only player to score more than one with his second 4 minutes later. In the 75th minute, central defender Daniel HILTON-OWEN scored his first Hendon goal from open play and second ever (his only other goal was a penalty in 1999-2000, but he scored own goal last year). "It was a good all round performance from everybody," said manager Dave Merrilees. "Ben BOUCHNAK was excellent today, but he was outshone by Andrew FREEMAN, who was outstanding."

Hendon Under-16s suffered a shock exit in the Harrow Youth League Cup on Sunday afternoon when bottom-of-the-table Springfield gained revenge for a 10-1 beating by the Greens to record a 3-2 victory. In the 3rd minute, Adrian TUITT, who has recently stepped up to the Under-18s squad, gave Hendon a dream start, but they could not build on it and a whole host of chances were spurned. In the 28th minute, Springfield showed how it should be done by scoring an equaliser. In the second half, Hendon regained the lead through Rafael GRANT, heading home a corner, but it was a case of déjà vu as Springfield got back on level terms with 8 minutes to go. With 90 seconds or so to go Springfield snatched a winner, this after Hendon's man of the match goalkeeper Alex ANDRIOU had made a miraculous double save. Manager Dave Merrilees said, "I can't understand how we could have beaten Springfield 10-1 a few weeks ago and then played so badly today. We let ourselves down.'

Hendon Under-16s pushed the self-destruct button in the second half of their Harrow Youth League Premier Division match against Sudbury Court at Clitterhouse Playing Fields and went from a 2-0 half-time lead to lose 4-3. In the 17th minute, Gabriel Marfo took advantage of defensive mix-up to give Adrian TUITT an easy chance to open the scoring. Six minutes later, a 25-yard screamer from Andrew FREEMAN doubled the advantage and Hendon went into the break more than comfortable. After the break, it all went wrong, A penalty was converted after 50 minutes to make it 2-1 and, within seconds, Sudbury Court had equalised. In the 59th minute, Hendon regained the lead when TUITT grabbed his second of the game, but a fine volley levelled things up in the 65th minute. Five minutes later, a second penalty, conceded by the same player as the first, led to Sudbury Court's winner. "We threw it away," said manager Dave Merrilees. "I told the boys not to do anything silly in defence and we gave away two penalties. My men of the match were Gabriel MARFO and Prince KOMKOROOLA."

Hendon Under-16s reached the 2nd round of the Middlesex Youth Cup with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Hanworth United on Sunday afternoon. Hendon fell a goal beind after 21 minutes, but it galvanised the team into action. Two minutes later Gabriel MARFO equalised and 4 minutes after that, man of the match Andrew FREEMAN put Hendon ahead. On the stroke of half-time, Ryan NELSON made it 3-1 and it gave Hendon the vital breathing space. Midway through the second half, the victory was ensured by Keith O'DONOGHUE's goal, but manager Dave Merrilees was not particularly pleased. "We did not play well today," he said, "but I am pleased that we have reached the next round."

Hendon Under-16s advanced to the 2nd round of the Harrow Youth League Cup with a 6-3 defeat of Parkfield on Sunday morning. Manager Dave Merrilees gave debuts to three boys, Gabriel Omferu, Jay Revell and Sham Shotter, and they all did well. However, Hendon did find themselves a goal behind after just 2 minutes. It took 20 minutes for the equaliser to arrive and came courtesy of SHOTTER. Six minuates later a drive from Keith O'Donoghue struck SHOTTER and was deflected into the opposite corner to make it 2-1 to Hendon. Goals after 33 and 39 minutes from Andrew FREEMAN and Walid HUSSEIN, respectively, stretched the lead to 4-1 at the break. At this time, referee Mr B Hallams informed the two managers that he was unable to continue and Mr Merrilees took over. The absence of sideline encouragement became immediately apparent as Parkfield scored twice inside 10 minutes and had an equaliser chalked off because of a foul on the Hendon goalkeeper. In the last 15 minutes, Hendon got back on top and scored through Adrian TUITT and Prince KOMKROOLA to seal an eventually comfortable victory. Man of the match was OMFERU, who produced an excellent performance in defence.

Hendon Under-16s went down to a disappointing 2-1 defeat against well organised and disciplined Wingate & Finchley at Clitterhouse Playing Fields on Sunday morning. The damage was done in the opening 20 minutes as Wingate & Finchley scored after 15 and 17 minutes. It took until the final 15 minutes for Hendon finally get off the mark, Ryan NELSON scoring, but a second goal just would not come. Manager Dave Merrilees was very unhappy with the overall performance and felt that a number of his players did not do enough. "We have a larger squad this season and I will not hesitate to make changes," he said. Man of the match was defender Ben BOUCHNAK.

Hendon's Under 16's had a big win in their opening game of the season, coming away from Springfield with a 10-1 victory. They were 4-1 ahead at half time, with 2 goals apiece for Adrian Tuitt and Ryan Nelson, and took control in the second half with further goals including the completion of Tuitt's hat-trick. Manager Dave Merrilees was pleased with the performance, and had it not been for a number of offside decisions, the scoreline could have been considerably higher.

The Under 16's campaign didn't start as planned this weekend after Borehamwood failed to field a team for the fixture.

The new Under 16s section will be updated regularly throughout the new season with the latest news, match reports, fixtures and tables from Hendon FC's youth team.