Kingstonian 0-2 Hendon
LON-DON CUP WINNERS

Kingstonian's hopes of glory came to an end, for this season at least, at the hands of Hendon in the London Senior Cup Final. In a game where Hendon dominated possession, both sides saw their fair share of chances, but it was Hendon's finishing that was the difference. Two brilliant second half strikes from The Dons' forwards separated the sides, but in reality the difference was bigger than two good finishes. Hendon's performance was well worth the prize of the London Senior Cup, and the game again underlined how much Alan Dowson's side must improve to challenge the upper echelons of the table next season.

The early skirmishes saw chances for both sides, Matt Pattison twice drew simple saves from Hendon keeper Berkley Laurencin, while at the other end Dave Diedhiou hit the post just 3 minutes and Casey Maclaren skied the rebound when it looked easier to score. The chances kept on coming as Jerome Federico squandered a one-on-one with Rob Tolfrey while Jack Mazzone's header looped onto the bar after a 16th minute scramble in the Ks' penalty area.

Eventually Kingstonian got a foothold in the game, and after Gary MacDonald flicked on Chris Page's throw, it took the full reach of Laurencin and the crossbar combined to keep out Bobby Traynor's diving header. Traynor again went close with his head before Ian Gayle's attempt from a corner was cleared off the line by Maclaren. Federico and Diedhiou went close from distance for Hendon while Pattison, Ryan Woods and Sam Clayton all saw long-range efforts fail to trouble Laurencin before half-time.

The second half saw Hendon begin to exert their authority on proceedings as Ks failed to secure enough possession to threaten. Scott Shulton could only fire straight at Tolfrey when through on goal but the pressure finally told. MacDonald's 56th minute sliced clearance fell to Shulton on the edge of the area who laid it off to Darren Currie 20 yards out. His volley was perfect, curling away from Tolfrey's despairing dive and into the far corner, an opening goal worthy of any cup final. Both teams kept the other at arms length for the next 15 or so minutes and only set pieces from Scott Cousins and Pattison tested the keepers. It was to be another MacDonald mistake that decided it though as a mix-up between him and Tolfrey over a long ball gave Mazzone a sniff of a chance. His finish was decisive, perfectly lobbing Tolfrey, who was caught in no-man's-land. With 20 minutes to go the game looked up and when Tom Bird's free kick was spectacularly tipped onto the bar by the impressive Laurencin the contest was over. Finally Ks began to exert some pressure but Tait's and Beadle's late efforts never troubled Laurencin.

A deserved win and trophy for an impressive Hendon side, for Dowson and Ks, the last hope of a disappointing season gone. The manager hasn't been afraid to make the tough choices before, and after this year, perhaps his biggest test will be the choices he makes this summer.