1st Team v Cockfosters

No. 27   1st December  2012.     Spartan South Midlands League - Division 1
Kings Langley                      3 (Ben Long 33,69,Jimmy Armstrong 64)
Cockfosters                          1 (Anton Lewis 75)
Kings Langley took on second placed Cockfosters on a bitterly cold afternoon and warmed the hearts of their supporters with a display that finally realized their potential. They had a stroke of fortune when, after an interesting first quarter, Sam Warrell poked an attempted clearance into the path of ace striker Edmond Protain, whose ‘goal’ was wrongly disallowed for offside and Ant Ladyman saved with his legs soon after , but it was not against the run of play when Kings took the lead after 33 minutes. A surging left wing run by Nathan Pooley saw him beat two defenders and cross to Jimmy Armstrong, who helped it on to Craig Lynskey. The striker’s forward pass was hammered home by Ben Long and Kings took the game to a rattled Cockfosters, with Evan Connolly’s shot tipped round by Craig Clark. The visitors were more lively at the start of the second half and Richard Morton’s shot skimmed the bar, but the defence still looked comfortable and Kings got the vital second when Crag Lynskey’s low right wing cross was forced home by Jimmy Armstrong. Five minutes later, a Tom Carter cross was only partially cleared and Ben Long hit a 25yard volley that looked a goal from the moment it left his foot. A solid defence was disappointed to allow sub Anton Lewis in to pull one back and Ant Ladyman then pulled off two flying saves to keep the buffer. Sam Warrell was again involved in controversy, when his shot hit the underside of the bar and seemed to have crossed the line, but no goal was given. Undeterred, Kings closed the game out for a victory that was more emphatic than the scoreline suggests.
Line-up (4-3-3)