Hendon lost 1-0 at home to Ryman Premier leaders AFC Hornchurch and Greens’ boss Gary McCann felt his side were beaten by the future champions.

A second half strike from Stefan Payne settled the contest but Hendon proved difficult opposition to overcome.

The defeat leaves Hendon 14th in the table but they have games in hand on several sounds above them.

“I am very disappointed to have lost the game,” said McCann. “But that was because we played very well against a very good team. If we play with that commitment and application for the rest of the season we will win many more matches than we lose.

“I think we played against the league champions today, and to have kept a very dangerous team to so few chances shows how well we played. They are a very well organised team and they play percentage football, not flashy, just very effective.

“Our defence was excellent, but we could not get many clear chances at the other end. I thought we should have had a penalty late on and Jefferson Louis twice went very close.”