Hendon came unstuck at the first time of asking in the FA Cup this season, deservedly losing at Step 5 club Steyning Town Community F.C. by 2 goals to 1. Though the Greens led at half-time, courtesy of a Niko Muir goal shortly before the break, in truth they could have been level or even behind at the interval, Josh Strizovic making one outstanding low-level save and Steyning wasting two or three other reasonable chances through poor finishing.

Hendon could not complain in any way about the pitch, which was a 3G/4G not unlike that at Silver Jubilee Park, but without the end-to-end slope of SJP.

Is this Hendon’s earliest ever exit from the FA Cup in a season? The answer, ambiguously, is YES and NO.

NO – this was the club’s 32nd appearance in the FA Cup Preliminary round, and there were 7 defeats in the previous 31 matches, the last defeat being by 1-0 at Yiewsley in 1956-57. Our previous appearance in the FA Cup Preliminary round was a 2-1 win at Abingdon Town in 1981-82.

Again, NO – because the club had participated in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary round on six occasions, chiefly in the inter-war years, those six matches producing five wins, and a defeat by Enfield in 1922-23 when the club was called Hampstead Town.

YES – until we played and beat Whitehawk in the 1st qualifying round on 31st August last season, our opening FA Cup match had always been in September or later. Saturday’s defeat is therefore the earliest in a season that we have exited the FA Cup, chronologically.

Hendon made several changes to the side that faced Bedfont Sports in midweek. Javon Marquis was fit to resume at right-back in place of Richie Mbele, while Corey Parchment, who replaced Marquis against Bedfont, played at left-back. J’Ardell Stirling was unfit and was replaced by Nikolai Krokhin, and loanee Bradley Smith was replaced by Keagan Cole, who made his first appearance this season. Mbele and Smith were on the bench, alongside Sam Shaban, Stephan Langley, Rhys Murrell-Williamson, Gael Kileba, and ‘reserve’ goalkeeper Frankie Beckles.

(On a point of order, Hendon’s squad currently contains two players with similar names, Bradley Smith and Bradley Dixon-Smith. Dixon-Smith has signed for the season, being a left-back who has yet to appear competitively for the club while he completes a suspension left over from last season. Smith is a wide midfielder who has appeared in all three matches so far; he is on a youth loan from Hemel Hempstead Town and should return there in early September.)

Steyning’s line-up is open to question. They announced their line-up via X, and also on a white-board which was initially in their clubhouse, but which was outside by half-time. The problem was that their line-up on X and on the white-board matched in only six shirt numbers (1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11). The line-up given on Football Web Pages (FWP) more or less matched that on the white-board, given some spelling differences.

On to the match. From the kick-off, Hendon had the best of the first 10-15 minutes, and could have been in front inside two minutes, had an unmarked Florian Ada shot first time when the ball came across the penalty area to him on the right. Unfortunately, he needed several touches to control the ball and steady himself, by which time the Steyning defence were in position to block his shot.

About 12 minutes in, Hendon were slightly unfortunate not to score. A shot came in and was blocked by the home ‘keeper’s foot. The ball looped up and struck the top of the bar, then going over for a corner which was unproductive.

Steyning had one good chance during this period, when a cross from the left was too high for the Hendon defence to deal with. It was met by a forward coming in off the right wing, but he was unable to control his header, which cleared the crossbar by about four yards.

They had a better chance around the half-hour mark, when a close-range shot came in. Supporters behind the goal were already cheering a goal, when Strizovic got down quickly and turned the ball away, a defender completing the clearance for him.

For most of the first half, Hendon had the better of the possession without really threatening a goal, the home defence managing to intercept many of the little flicks and lay-offs attempted by the visitors’ attack to create a clear shooting opportunity. After 40 minutes’ play, one attempt finally worked, the ball coming to MUIR about 8 yards out, and he confidently finished. The ‘keeper got his hand to the shot but was unable to keep it out. So Hendon led 1-0 at the interval.

In the second half the Greens appeared to sit back and invite Steyning on, whether under instruction to do so or not was unclear. Steyning gained control of midfield, winning several 40-60 challenges against Rohdell Gordon, Jordan Grey, and Cole. Although under more pressure than during the first half, Hendon’s defence coped well, even successfully defending a number of long throws from Steyning’s right-back, Max Blencowe.

Shortly after the hour mark Hendon received three yellow cards in quick succession, and within a couple of minutes of the third card, Steyning equalised. They won a corner on their right and varied the delivery, this one being an inswinging corner from someone’s left foot. It arrived in the middle of goal and there was an almost instantaneous cheer, both referee and linesman giving a goal. According to Steyning’s X feed, the scorer was right-back BLENCOWE. The scorer given by Football Web Pages did not play a single second of the match, as far as the writer is aware.

At this point there were 19 minutes to go, and from the writer’s point of view, only one possible winner. Hendon’s midfield and attack were becoming more and more innocuous, apart from several runs by Tobi Adaje. Eventually, after 77 minutes, Hendon made their first change, Bradley Smith replacing Ada. With about five minutes to go, Sam Shaban replaced Cole.

With two minutes of normal time remaining Steyning won a throw-in on their left. The ball came to Harry HEATH, who moved inside Marquis, and unleashed an unstoppable shot from distance across Strizovic and into the far top corner, the goalkeeper having no chance. The shot was probably a 30-yarder with the angle, and was worthy of winning any match.

As normal time ended, Hendon won a free kick just outside the penalty area. Smith and a defender needed treatment, the defender more so, and during the stoppage Hendon made their last two changes and Steyning their final change. The free kick, when eventually taken, came to nothing, and several minutes into stoppage time the referee ended the contest.

Hendon are at present a side trying to gel together, and even after just three matches they have not been helped in injuries. Several players seem to have yet to show their full capabilities – hopefully that will happen sooner or later.

Steyning were much more together as a team and seemed to have several game plans available depending on the progress of the match. Taking the match in its entirety, the writer feels that for the most part they outplayed Hendon, and they fully deserved their victory.