Hendon nearly downed the Goliath of Billericay Town but were narrowly beaten 4-3 in Essex on Saturday, despite twice leading against their big-spending hosts.

Tom Lovelock's goalkeeping will dominate the highlights in a game where the hosts were well on top, but the Greens' clinical finishing nearly earned them a point at the league leaders in front of a massive crowd approaching 2,000.

The vast majority were left stunned three minutes in when Ashley Nathaniel-George curled in a stunning long-range opener, but Town regropued and equalised through Ricky Modeste.

Keagan Cole put the visitors back in front with a mirror image of their first, and this time almost extended their lead when the same player saw a delightful chip caress the bar.

Hendon were then denied a penalty as Niko Muir was hacked down in the box, with the referee defiant to the resulting protests.

In situations like that, any referee would hope the decision would not have repercussions - but instead, Adam Cunnington smashed in an equaliser within seconds for Billericay.

They took that new-found momentum to score twice more before the break, with Billy Bricknell converting a spot kick of their own and Cunnington extending the lead with a looping header.

Lovelock was called into action numerous times after the interval while Hendon looked to force a way back into the game only to see the ball cleared off the line twice.

Three changes from McCann swung the momentum back Hendon's way, and Nathaniel-George pulled them back within a goal in injury time.

But while five minutes on the board at the end of the 90 minutes provided one last opportunity for an equaliser, it never materialised.

Billericay: Lovelock, Eggleton, Murphy, Corcoran (Walker, 72), Bray, Lee, Cole (Ball, 84), Diedhiou, Joseph (Uchechi, 72), Muir, Nathaniel-George.

Not used: Pedro, Ibe.