Hendon produced a head-scratchingly disappointing performance in going down to Peacehaven & Telscombe on Saturday afternoon. The bitterly cold and windy afternoon only added to the misery of Greens players, officials and supporters who made it down to the South Coast.

After missing more than a month with illness and injury, Dave Diedhiou was restored to the Hendon starting line-up at the expense of the injured Sam Murphy, who joined James Fisher and Ollie Sprague sidelines.

Maybe Hendon fans should have realised what to expect when, from the kick-off, the ball was played out to the left wing and went five yards behind Tony Taggart on its way out of play. And, seconds later, it very nearly got a great deal worse.

A diagonal ball released Jamie Brotherton who appeared to get past Elliott Brathwaite before being brought down. Those on the dugout side of the ground saw the striker dive into the centre-back; everyone else thought Brathwaite was the offender. Brotherton was cautioned for simulation.

With the wind at their backs, Peacehaven enjoyed complete domination for the first 20-odd minutes. Hendon could not get possession and, when they did, the passing towards Kezie Ibe and Aaron Morgan gave them far too much to do, though Mark Knee's persistent manhandling of Ibe went largely unpunished, much to his and the Hendon bench's frustration.

Ben McNamara had problems releasing the ball downfield, with the wind taking it to places where there were no green shirts, and often none in stripes either. As for making saves, the goalkeeper could count a good half dozen to his name, but none were particularly difficult thanks to a combination of good positional sense and poor accuracy.

In the 25th minute, Hendon had every reason to feel aggrieved when Lee O'Leary was denied a goal. A cross into the Magpies penalty area was held up by the wind, but goalkeeper Antony Di Bernardo nonetheless came to claim the ball.

He had to come a very long way and finally grabbed it beyond the penalty spot. His efforts caused him stumble and he bumped into O'Leary, who was turning to back into a defensive position.

Di Bernardo lost control of the ball after the collision and O'Leary wasted no time in shooting into the net from 18 yards. He was aghast to find the referee penalising him for an apparent foul on the goalkeeper.

Ten minutes before half-time, Peacehaven's dominance got its reward. A cross from the left wing eluded Charlie Goode and Brotherton nipped in to head the ball past McNamara.

Before the start of the second half, Hendon made a double change, removing Morgan and Diedhiou and replacing them with Leon Smith and Andre Da Costa. Within two minutes, the Greens should have been back on level terms.

The ball was played to the edge of a penalty area where a shot from O'Leary took a deflection fell to Ibe. His first shot was well blocked by Di Bernardo, but the rebound went straight back to Ibe.

This time the striker had around six of the eight yards of the goal to aim at, Di Bernardo lying in the middle of the goal, albeit behind the line. Ibe's shot was straight at the goalkeeper, all along the ground. Di Bernardo made the block, but if the ball had been lifted even a yard or put anywhere Andre Da Costa. Within two minutes, the Greens should have been back on level terms.

The ball was played to the edge of a penalty area where a shot from O'Leary took a deflection fell to Ibe. His first shot was well blocked by Di Bernardo, but the rebound went straight back to Ibe.

This time the striker had around six of the eight yards of the goal to aim at, Di Bernardo lying in the middle of the goal, albeit behind the line. Ibe's shot was straight at the goalkeeper, all along the ground. Di Bernardo made the block, but if the ball had been lifted even a yard or put anywhere towards the goal other than other than where it was aimed, Ibe would have scored.

Peacehaven continued to battle bravely and they did better going into the wind than Hendon had. Brotherton and Tom Burton were will runners and Wilfred Grimoud gave Chris Seeby a difficult afternoon especially in limiting the back's attacking options. Taggart had similar problems with James Hammond keeping him quiet.

In the heart of midfield, Casey and Kevin Maclaren and O'Leary got little change out of the Magpies, for whom Dan McLaughlin deserved special praise. Smith and Ibe found chances at a premium, leaving Da Costa as the best attacking option, though Casey Maclaren did have one effort saved by Di Bernardo.

A concerted spell of Peacehaven pressure failed to bring a goal, but it added to the Hendon frustration. With 15 minutes to go, the Greens made their last change, Peter Dean taking over from Taggart, but it didn’t make a huge difference.

The Magpies sealed the points with six minutes of normal time remaining. A Hendon free-kick didn't cause too many problems for the Peacehaven defence and the ball was punted clear.

With Hendon committed to attack, Burton gambled on an undermanned Greens defence. It was a good decision, but the striker did get lucky when the ball dropped out of the darkening sky and landed almost perfectly in his stride.

Burton was clear of the last defender and as McNamara came off his line, the ball was rolled past him into the net. There may have been luck in how Burton got possession, but you make your own luck and Peacehaven's efforts certainly deserved it.

There was still time for Da Costa to go close twice. His first effort, an angled drive, beat Di Bernardo, but struck the outside of the far post and bounced away.

The next attempt was a drive from the edge of the penalty area, which Di Bernardo caught above his head, making it look as easy as shelling peas. In fact, it was anything but easy, because the goalkeeper's line of sight was blocked a group of players and he could only have seen the ball at the very last second.