Miles Rutherford, Danny Potter, Dabba & Co named the same starting XI that beat Lewes 3-0 previously at Oaklands Park. They were still without injured top scorer Jimmy Wild (whose 97th minute penalty separated Chi and Hendon in the reverse fixture in December); keeper Kieran Magee; skipper Rob Hutchings; and forward Ethan Prichard.
Dorking-loanee Magnus Norman lined up in goal with captain Ryan Davidson and Emmett Dunn right and left of Curtis Da Costa and Ben Pashley in the centre of the defence. Joe Moore again began as the holding player alongside Mo Jammeh, Isaac Bello, Joe Clarke and Lloyd Rowlatt in midfield and Lewis Rustell up top.
Chi won a throw in the opening minute before Nathan Opoku carved an early opportunity but his shot deflected off Da Costa for a corner.
No4 Rohdell Gordon delivered this and it was headed away at the near post for another on the opposite side.
The visitors cleared and Bello couldn’t get to a loose ball which went out for a throw.
Chichester then won a set piece and the hosts’ Isaac Currie and Opoku combined only for Chi to earn another throw.
Next, Jammeh tried to pick Rustell but goalie Matteo Salamon got there first.
Opoku was flagged offside in the following Hendon attack and Chi built from the back but Rowlatt, who scored the opener against Lewes last time out, couldn’t get the final ball under control.
Da Costa made a couple of headers and Chi were given a free kick by referee Richard Wharton for a foul on Rustell.
The Chichester striker then caught Gordon before Lonit Talla and Anokye-Boadi hooked up for an impressive effort which found the back of the net in the ninth minute beyond Norman’s reach.
It was the first goal the Sussex side had conceded in three matches.
Dunn was impeded by Opoku moments later before Pashley, Rowlatt and Dunn connected for a cross that Salamon collected easily enough.
Talla’s effort was blocked in the following home side attack and a second shot went narrowly wide of the target.
Clarke, Jammeh and Rustell tried to get the visitors going but once more lost out, and Dunn successfully shepherded the ball off for a Chi goal kick.
Jammeh and Currie battled fiercely on 16 minutes and Dunn took the resulting throw-in.
Opoku felled Dunn for a Chichester free kick which came to nothing and a Dunn pass after neat work from Da Costa and Jammeh was simply intercepted by Salamon.
Fadahunsi, not for the last time, was adjudged offside when Opoku, Talla and Stefan Ilic linked up.
Norman pulled off a fine save to deny Fadahunsi at the mid-point and Clarke steered it from danger before the Chi custodian got out low down to claim ahead of Anokye-Boadi.
A spell of pressure from the North London hosts ended as Norman gathered Ilic’s cross without any problem.
It just wasn’t clicking for Chi.
Pashley tried to find Clarke with a pass which Salamon got to first and on the half hour Anoyke-Boadi was caught unfairly for a Greens’ set piece.
A decent chance came and went for Hendon to double their lead as Norman conceded a corner. Ilic took this and Davidson cleared only for the home team to win another that J’Ardell Stirling headed wide.
Pashley, Jammeh and Bello exchanged passes in a promising move which ended when a super tackle in the Londoners’ box snuffed out the danger.
Ten minutes before half time Norman was forced into another stop to deny skipper Niko Muir.
Opoku got a talking to for a foul on Dunn by Mr Wharton, who didn’t actually book a player all game, and then Chichester won their first corner on 39 minutes.
Rowlatt whipped this into the box and Clarke, scorer of the third goal against Lewes, headed home an equaliser here.
Dunn then cut out a Gordon pass before momentum shifted as the visitors blew an opportunity to take the lead when Rustell’s attempt was saved by Salamon and Moore missed the second go.
Both teams exchanged throws and free kicks in the final five minutes of the first period and Anokye-Boadi hit a long-range effort wide of the mark.
Neither side made any changes at the break and Davidson’s cross was dealt with without any trouble four minutes into the second half.
Rustell got flagged offside; Moore gave away a needless corner which Ilic once gain took and Moore cleared; and Anokye-Boadi was flagged offside.
A clash between Fadahunsi and Da Costa resulted in a Chi set piece before the Lillywhites rode their luck on 53 when Hendon danced into the penalty area only for the ball to be hooked away.
Nice play by Rowlatt set Dunn up for a delivery which Bello needed to hit first time before Da Costa headed away a Dons’ throw, and a neat exchange between Fadahunsi and Talla got blocked.
A poor shot from Bello presented little trouble for the Greens and Talla struck one onto the roof of the Chichester net on 59.
Opoku was replaced by Leo Sery on the hour and Hendon cleared as Rowlatt, Dunn, Jammeh and Rustell linked up.
A probing passage of play saw the visitors win a throw which Bello launched to no avail.
Fadahunsi was given offside in the 64th minute before Chi rolled the dice and introduced Olly Munt and Charlie Bennett for Jammeh and Rustell.
Norman was at it once more to deny Sery and give away a corner that the Hendon sub headed wide.
At the other end Chichester won one of their own but it was cleared before Davidson’s shot from some distance glanced unfortunately against the post.
Moore then gave the ball away and Da Costa’s backwards header to Norman got cut out by Fadahunsi and turned in for what would prove to be the winner on 72.
Sery threatened with a decent run moments later as he latched on to Gordon’s pass only for Chi to clear.
Next, nice stuff between Pashley and Rowlatt came to an untimely end when Bello was deemed offside; Salamon claimed a Davidson delivery; and Jake Scrimshaw replaced Moore.
Pashley tidied up after Anokye-Boadi countered before Bello cut inside and had a shot which was turned out for a corner before Clarke headed inches wide.
A poor pass from Munt didn’t find a marauding Dunn with seven minutes of normal time left and Chi repelled when Talla and Fadahunsi combined.
In additional time, Davidson forced another chance and then saw his cross claimed by Salamon, although Chichester ultimately couldn’t find an equaliser and Hendon won their first league game in over four months.
So, another bottom four club dealt the Sussex side a crushing blow after losses against Hastings and Bowers & Pitsea earlier in the campaign.
Chi remain sixth in the league, but now five points off Dover in the last of the play-off spots.
Next up is another match away at Chatham Town on Saturday 12th April (Kick Off 3pm).
Chichester – Norman, Davidson, Dunn, Moore, Da Costa, Pashley, Bello, Clarke, Rustell, Rowlatt, Jammeh. (Scrimshaw, Munt, Bennett, Prichard)
