Aylesbury travelled to Claremont Road for this match with Hendon, quite possibly for the last time, and came away with a creditible draw after a gutsy defensive display.
The match had got off to a flying start. Hendon failed to take the lead after just three minutes, after Dale Binns was left all alone, but placed his shot wide of the post.
The away side then shocked their hosts, as Donovan Reed gave Aylesbury the lead on his full debut. Ex-Duck Iain Duncan failed to clear the ball, and Alvin Bubb capitalised, delivering a pinpoint cross. Reed got the faintest of touches at the near post, and the ball trickled over the line. 1-0 Aylesbury
Hendon looked to hit-back within two minutes, as another ex-Aylesbury player Dwayne Plummer had a shot blocked, from Eugene Ofori's delivery into the box. Plummer was proving a real handful, and was, as expected, at the heart of most of Hendon's attacking play.
Alvin Bubb was causing Hendon problems down their right-flank, as he over-ran Duncan in the opening fifteen minutes. Unfortunately (from a purely Aylesbury perspective!) the full-back picked up an injury, and was replaced by Antony Howard.
Danny Mead saw a shot drift wide from a half-cleared corner, before some hesitant defending allowed Ryan Wiffin half-a-yard in the box. The big striker's snapshot was well held by Dave King in the home side's goal.
Hendon were making the better chances, but were either squandering good opportunities, or finding themselves caught offside by the well organised Aylesbury defence. A combination of the two saw a shot parried out by Jack Rashid, but the follow-up effort was ruled offside, as Aylesbury clung on.
After 36 minutes the Ducks' luck ran out, and Hendon equalised. A free-kick was perfectly delivered from the right-flank, and nodded home by Steve Forbes. 1-1
The remaining few minutes saw the home side maintain their pressure, and although they had plenty of posession, chances were limited before the referee blew for the interval.
Half-time: Hendon 1-1 Aylesbury
The second half began with a change in formation as Aylesbury switched to a 4-4-2 system. Alex Giscombe replaced Ashley Hilton and went into central midfield, to add some extra bite in the middle.
The second half saw Hendon start the brighter of the teams, and they wasted a couple of early opportunities. In what proved to be his last action of the match, Binns managed to head wide of goal, when all alone in the box. Ofori once more provided the excellent delivery. Binns was then replaced by Ricci Crace.
Substitute Antony Howard showed good technique as he half-volleyed just wide of the far post, with Rashid beaten. A flowing move forward was then lobbed over on the volley by Ofori, as Hendon continued to miss chances.
Byron Bubb replaced Ryan Wiffin, as Aylesbury moved to combine the 'Pacey 3' up front - with the Bubb's and Reed acting as the attacking unit. Eugene Ofori was then booked by the referee for a reckless, late challenge.
Hendon continued to probe, but found themselves either repelled by the Aylesbury defense, or guilty of poor finishing. Forbes took the latter route, as he shot well wide from outside the area.
Alvin Bubb showed that the Ducks were still a threat on the counter-attack, although his shot didn't match the build-up play, as he fired over from the edge of the area.
As the match entered the final fifteen minutes, Aylesbury were being forced back, but were worryingly defending deeper and deeper, and it seemed only a matter of time before the home side took the lead.
Plummer cut inside and fired in a low shot with his left-foot, which was well held at his near post by the diving Rashid. Howard went close again, as he smacked a powerful drive against the bar and Plummer saw another left-footed effort cut out, this time by one of the melee in the penalty area.
The act of repelling the Hendon attack was completed in the final minute, as substitute Jamie Moss somehow prevented a Steve Forbes shot hitting the back of the net, with a remarkable goal-line clearance.
The referee seemed to want to play the match until it got dark, as he added plenty of stoppage time, but when the final whistle eventually came, there was relief all round for Aylesbury, as they managed to hang-on.
