Swindon Supermarine made it four games unbeaten on the trot as they came out on top 3-2 after a five-goal thriller away at Hendon.

The first five minutes saw Marine penned in their own half as the hosts swarmed forward with vim and gusto. However, it was the visitors who struck first when a Liban Ibrahim shot from 25 yards struck the upright and rebounded into the path of Dave Sims-Burgess, who followed up to net the loose ball.

As the half-progressed Marine found themselves under ever more pressure from a Hendon team determined to retain their unbeaten home record. Hendon won the ball back just inside the Marine half after 20 minutes and worked it quickly to Kai Brosnan, who drove across the box and struck an inch-perfect shot past Conor Brann.

The remainder of the half was pretty much two sides jostling for the upper hand in a skirmish of the midfield. The only moment of quality came from Ethan Light winning possession inside his own half and surging forward before curling a thirty-yard effort just wide of the post.

Bronsan was the proverbial thorn in Marine’s side. In the first ten minutes of the second half, he had four chances. A shot that went narrowly wide; one effort requiring a superb block from Toby Raison; the third saw him running onto a pass from Fin MacNab and powering an effort into the roof of the net; before coming close to extending the lead shortly after.

In the 57th minute, a corner from the left saw Raison rise high in the box to power home a header to make the score 2-2.

Barely a minute later a precision pass from Jake Andrews set Sims-Burgess clear down the right, he drilled a low cross into the area, and from close range, Levi Irving slid the ball past the keeper.

Hendon came close several times as they surged forward, but Marine defended resolutely. The visitors also, on occasions, had the good fortune to see crosses flash across the face of their goal and elude onrushing Hendon strikers.

The host’s more lofted crosses were also consistently thwarted by the good handling of Brann in the Marine goal and some commanding defending from Mat Liddiard and Raison.

But it was Marine who created the two clearest openings late on, Joe Tumelty cleared the bar with a shot from twelve yards and Brad Gray couldn’t quite lift his effort over the onrushing goalkeeper.