1st Team v Bedford

No. 12    15th September 2012.     Spartan South Midlands League - Division 1
Kings Langley                  4  (Jimmy Armstrong 27,90 pen, Jack Johnson 43, Joe Gallagher 71)
Bedford                             1  (Jamie Cole 41 pen)
Kings served early notice of intent with a Jimmy Armstrong header just over in the second minute, but Bedford responded and Ross Hampton had to pull off two instinctive saves as Kings laboured to put their passing game together. But as the half hour approached, a Joe Gallagher lobbed through ball found the predatory Jimmy Armstrong, who finished with a shot past the outcoming Ben Bullen. There was a touch of luck when Chae Simons, stole behind the defence to net when rightly judged offside, but with the injured Gary Connolly replaced by Alex Forsey, a back four with an average age of under 19 was coping well and it was unfortunate when a ball to hand incident on Callum Adebiyi was judged a penalty and Jamie Cole equalized. The young left back showed character to respond with a surging wing run and cross that Armstrong could not turn in, but it passed on to Jack Johnson, who rounded the keeper to finish in style. Joe Gallagher’s diving header was ruled out for offside, before he was clattered minutes later in an off the ball incident by Dean Flanagan, who was promptly dismissed. With Kings now firmly in control, a Nathan Pooley free kick hit the bar and a Sam Warrell set piece was headed home by an unmarked Joe Gallagher. Jack Johnson’s telling pass to Jimmy Armstrong saw the striker brought down by the keeper and Bedford’s fragile discipline dissolved further when Chae Simons was dismissed for abusive language. Kings’ ace striker held his nerve to dispatch the penalty two minutes later to end a match in which Kings kept their heads while others around them lost theirs.          Line-up (4-4-1-1)