Ryman Premier: Hornchurch 0 Hendon 2

Hornchurch’s miserable campaign continued as they finished with 10 men in another home defeat at Bridge Avenue last night.

Having seen George Purcell dismissed during the 1-0 loss to Hampton & Richmond on Saturday, manager Jimmy McFarlane looked on as recent recruit Danny Johnson was given his marching orders for two bookable offences late on.

And suspensions are the last thing McFarlane needs – after losing Phil Starkey to high-flying Maidstone this week – as he looks to kickstart their stuttering season.

Purcell sent an early chance wide on three minutes, while Alex Bentley forced a good save from Ben McNamara soon after.

A Purcell free-kick flew across the face of goal, without finding an Urchins boot, but the visitors went close when Leon Smith went round Sam Mott but fired wide of the vacant net.

Chris Bourne and Hendon’s Chris Seeby were both booked as tempers began to fray, with Danny Johnson also shown a yellow card before Mott saved a header from Elliott Braithwaite midway through the half.

Tobi Joseph was cautioned just before the break as the scoreline remained goalless, but his good work then set up a chance for Purcell soon after the restart, only for the Urchins striker to see his superb strike dip too late.

Hendon broke the deadlock on 49 minutes when Smith capitalised on a mistake in the home ranks and placed his shot wide of Mott.

And after Andre Da Costa had a shot well saved, the visitors doubled their advantage on the hour when Casey Maclaren was left unmarked to score with a free header.

Martin Tuohy made way for Elyon Marshall-Katung midway through the second half, but Bentley became the fourth Hornchurch player booked when cautioned by referee Garry Maskrill for dissent as home frustrations grew.

Johnson was shown his second yellow card, followed by a red, with nine minutes left for a bad tackle but Urchins avoided further punishment as Mott kept out a late effort from Belal Aite-Ouakrim.

An 11th defeat in 14 league matches left Urchins two points adrift at the foot of the table ahead of their weekend trip to Bognor.

Hornchurch: Mott, Homans, Bourne, styles, Beckles, Curley, Johnson, Bentley, Tuohy (Marshall-Katung 66), Purcell (Davis 83), Joseph. Unused subs: Griffin, Gogo, Hursit.