Page 28 - Yate Town FC v Chesham Utd & Hendon 061222 101222

In Town today

Hendon’s were able to move into Silver Jubilee Park in 2016 but it took until January 2017 for a first
home League win to be achieved. A last-day draw, completing a run of 22 points from 10 games, saw
the club avoid relegation. The 2017–18 season was nearly glorious. Led by the prolific 92-goal attack of
Niko Muir (40 goals – first in 19 years), Zak Joseph (18), Ashley Nathaniel-George (17) and Josh Walker
(17), Hendon roared to third place in the Isthmian League – a second top-three finish in four seasons
– and reached the playoff final. Sadly, it was not to be as Dulwich Hamlet won a penalty shoot-out.
A new era dawned in summer 2018 as The Football Association announced that Hendon would be
playing in the Southern League Premier Division South, the Greens’ first League change since 1963. An
even bigger change came as manager Gary McCann, his coaching staff and every senior player moved
on to pastures new. Hendon made a great start to their new competition and were second in December,
but a long losing run saw them narrowly avoid relegation in spring 2019. The Greens made a slow start
to the new season and, in November, manager Jimmy Gray departed, being replaced by Biggleswade
Town boss Lee Allinson.
Lee, whose father Ian played for Arsenal and now manages St Albans City, was a talented midfielder
who started his playing career at Watford and went on to play for Harlow Town, Barton Rovers, Enfield,
Stotfold, Borehamwood, Arlesey Town and Biggleswade Town before becoming assistant manager, then
manager there. An experienced coach, he – with his wife Faye – runs his own coaching academy, based
at Silver Jubilee Park. The pandemic means that 2022–23 will be Lee’s second full season as Hendon
boss. The highlight of his time as Hendon manager was London Senior Cup triumph over Brentford B in
September 2020, and the same teams met in the 2022 final with the Premier League club triumphing
after a penalty shoot-out.
Did you know that ......
• 100,000 watched Hendon against northern giants Bishop Auckland in the 1955 Amateur Cup Final
at Wembley.
• Following an invitation from the F.A. to test the system, Hendon were the first club to play under
floodlights at Wembley Stadium. The first team beat the reserves 1–0.
• In October 1951, Hendon became the first team in Britain to win a floodlit cup-tie when they won
a London Challenge Cup match against Arsenal at Highbury.
• In 1964–65, Hendon created probably a unique record for a visiting team when they won two
matches scoring four goals at Highbury in the same season. Arsenal were beaten 4–3 in a London
Challenge Cup tie – after the Gunners led 3–0 – and Finchley were downed 4–1 in an FA Amateur
Cup semi-final.
• The club’s original colours were blue, but changed to green during the Second World War, when
the club was Golders Green. In 1997–98 the club replaced their now traditional green and brought
back the original blue resulting in an outcry from supporters and the green was restored two
seasons later!
• England’s three highest capped Amateur Internationals between World War 2 and May 1974 were
all Hendon players. Rod Haider (65 caps), John Swannell (61) and Mike Pinner (52) lead the way
with Peter Deadman (40) and Laurie Topp (32) make it five Hendon players in the top ten of
England cap winners.
• Hendon progressed through the round in which they entered the FA Cup for 29 consecutive
seasons, 1985–2014. The run ended against AFC Sudbury in September 2014.
• Leon Smith equalled an 89-year-old club record when he scored in eight consecutive games during
the 2014–15 season. The record was first set by Oscar Reinke in 1925. Leon is only the fourth
player in the club’s history to score in 7 or more consecutive games, and the first post-war player
to score in 6 in a row.
• In June 2015, Charlie Goode became the second Hendon player, after Phil Gridelet, to play for the
England Non-League team, now England C. Peter Deadman turned down the honour in May 1974,
not wanting to miss Hendon’s end-of-season run-in. He would have been one of the very few
players to earn Amateur and Semi-Professional honours.
• The club’s nicknames are the Greens or the Dons. They were the Green, even when they wore blue
in the mid-1930s but at the time, the club was still known as Golders Green.
• Many Hendon players have stepped up to the Football League, including Iain Dowie and Junior
Lewis. In recent years, Charlie Goode signed for Scunthorpe United and, in 2018 and 2019,
respectively, Ashley Nathaniel-George and Ricardo German joined Crawley Town. Also in 2019,
Jacob Gardiner-Smith signed for Wycombe Wanderers.
• Hendon set a new club record with a 25-match unbeaten run in 2015. After a loss to Peacehaven
& Telscombe in January, the Greens did not lose again until the Ryman League Premier Division
Playoff final in mid-May.