A valiant effort from Hendon wasn’t enough to make it through to the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup as they came out on the wrong end of a heart-breaking 5-4 thriller against Hayes & Yeading United.

The Greens found themselves 3-0 down at the break and Kam English’s goal shortly after the restart was quickly cancelled out to make it 4-1. Sam Corcoran's controversial long-range stunner and a brace from Francis Amartey looked to have secured an unlikely replay by making it 4-4, but Hassan Jalloh’s late penalty edged Hayes through.

The home side took the lead just after the half-hour mark when Ogo Obi went down in the area and beat Chris Grace from the resulting penalty.

Hendon looked like they were heading into the break just a goal behind but fell apart in the remaining minutes as Joe Grant tapped in a second and Jalloh’s shot hit the post before going in off Grace’s shoulder.

English volleyed home just past the hour mark to drag Hendon back into it, but Hayes restored their three-goal cushion as Omar Rowe curled a stunning free-kick over the wall and in.

Corcoran pulled a further goal back when Jack Smith left his goal unattended while running off to receive treatment, firing in from some 60 yards.

Hendon then did the unthinkable and made it 4-4 as Amartey produced two excellent finishes to level the game.

However, more late drama saw the referee point to the spot for a second time in Hayes’ favour, and Jalloh made no mistake from the spot to seal his side’s passage to the next round at the end of a remarkable game.

The Greens return to Southern League Premier Division South action this Saturday when they welcome sixth-placed Salisbury to the Avenue Park Stadium, kicking off at 3pm.