Miserable season for Hendon

David Ballheimer on another tough season for the Greens

Hendon FC players celebrating a goal during a previous season – (Credit – Derek Beech)

Hendon FC suffered through another miserable season in 2025/26. In 2024/25, the club had their first relegation in its almost 120-year history, and they followed it with another campaign sitting in or close to the bottom four.

Going into the new season with an almost new playing staff, manager Ben Bukowski was full of optimism that the Greens would compete for the title or at least the play-offs.

Instead, on the opening day of the season, in an awful match and performance, Hartley Wintney won 3–0. Things quickly got worse with an FA Cup exit in the preliminary round, 2–1 at Steyning Town, from a level lower.

Apart from a relatively good run in the FA Trophy, three wins, including one over Isthmian Premier Dulwich Hamlet, there was little joy in cup competitions and a 6–1 home rout at the hands of Leyton Orient’s development squad – the only home cup tie of the season – meant all cup interest ended in January.

On the league front, the first win of the campaign came on 25th September, but there were draws with both teams that would win promotion. Hendon did enjoy a seven-game unbeaten run, but three were in the FA Trophy. In early October, the Greens were 14th in the table, pretty much the high watermark.

Disappointingly, every time the Greens looked as if they might be turning a corner, they suffered a reverse, lost their impetus and dropped back into the relegation dogfight. A 7–1 win over Fareham Town was a rare high spot (the wins over Dulwich and Fareham earned Hendon two Isthmian League Performance of the Month awards). What frustrated many fans was the fact that there were enough players with experience at higher levels who did not deliver.

The team was scoring plenty of goals, but they were conceding even more; there were two 3–3 and two 4–4 draws and Hendon conceded four in four straight league games. A collapse in discipline hampered the Greens’ cause and the club decided to make a change in the dugout after back-to-back wins against Littlehampton Town and Hayes & Yeading United. Ben Fisher was brought in to replace Bukowski and he started with a win over Ascot United. However, the Greens picked up only five points in the last eight games to finish two points and two places above the last relegation place.

Stars of the season were goalkeeper Josh Strizovic, whose heroics frequently won points when none were deserved, and striker Sam Shaban, who bagged 25 goals in 50 games. Looking forward to next season, the good news is that Fisher has the off-season to put together a new squad, and he has persuaded Shaban and Strizovic to stay for 2026–27.

Centre-back Jordan Williams, from St Ives Town, is the first new signing, so it is impossible to predict how Hendon will perform this season. It must, however, be an improvement on last term.

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