Hendon 3

Dagenham & Redbridge 0

Hendon produced yet another comprehensive home victory against a top-four team with a demolition of fourth-placed Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday.

Delighted manager Frank Murphy said: "I told the players at half-time that the wind didn't win games, players did, and fair play to them they played very well in the second half. Given the conditions, I think this was our best league performance of the season."

All the goals came in the second half, after Hendon, With a strong wind at their backs, were completely on top in the first half, but could not find a way past a strangely unbalanced Dagenham side who defended in numbers, often in desperation.

Dagenham's England non-league international keeper Paul Gothard did well to keep out Tony Kelly's effort after 12 minutes, and Paul Kelly's five minutes later, but Hendon put too few attempts on target.

Paul Whitmarsh went close after being put through, and Curtis Warmington wastefully headed wide. Just before half-time, the Dons wasted three chances to shoot from good positions.

If Dagenham felt they had completed more than half their task when they started the second half, they quickly discovered the job was nowhere complete.

Hendon used different tactics, passing the ball down the flanks, and Junior Lewis and Whitmarsh caused problems with their runs. Two corners from Fred Hyatt in the 48th minute almost crept inside the near post, David Pratt and Gary Seymour clearing off the line.

Hendon took the lead in the 58th minute with a simple goal by Lewis. Hyatt took a long throw towards the near post where Lewis got in front of Seymour and his flicked header inside the far post.

Dons' assistant manager Barry Simmonds said recently that Hyatt was running his own "goal of the season competition", and in the 62nd minute, he addded entry number eight.

Paul Kelly was brought down 25 yards out, and Hyatt's vicious curler let Gothard helpless.

Hendon extended their lead after 62 minutes, when Paul Kelly, on the ground atfer taking a knock, got up as the ball and three players ran towards him (he was not offside). Kelly got to the ball first and tried a speculative shot that Gothard should ahve saved, but only managed to tip into the net. It was Hendon's 100th goal of the season in competitive matches.

In the 75th minute, Steve Hurd replaced Naseem Bashir in his first match for eight weeks, after incurring an ankle in training.

HENDON: McCann, A Kelly, Clarke, P Kelly, Warmington, Bateman, Bashir (Heard 75), Hyatt, Whitmarsh (Banton 78), Howard, Lewis. Sub: Brady.

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