Match Report

Kings Langley were back in action after a fortnight’s break, travelling to Wimborne Town for a match that appeared to bear similarities in the first forty minutes to the previous game at Swindon Supermarine. Both sides are newly promoted, sat below Kings in the basement of the table and looked to be of a similar standard and style. Again, Kings dominated the early exchanges with the attack having the upper hand. The outcome however, was to prove very different as Langley totally lost their way in the second half. The Kings’ front three looked lively, Stevie Ward nipping in for a shot that keeper Gerard Benfield saved with his feet, while a Rene Howe back-heel gave Mitchell Weiss a shot well saved. A Weiss free kick was held at the second attempt by Benfield, before Town had their first shot on 18 minutes, a Luke Holmes effort easily held by Charlie Burns. As the half hour passed, Kings mounted another onslaught, with a Josh Coldicott-Stevens diagonal crossfield pass giving Weiss a run at Benfield, but the keeper denied the striker, before pulling off two exceptional saves in as many minutes from Stevie Ward, one of which was a chip shot that the keeper had no right to reach. And then the familiar lapse of concentration saw Town take the lead against the run of play on the stroke of halftime. Franklyn Clarke had served warning with their first real threat minutes earlier, a long low shot just past the post, before a one two suddenly exposed Kings and Luke Burbridge slipped the ball past Charlie Burns. If Kings were stunned to be in such a position, they were comatose ten minutes into the second period as Toby Holmes calmly ran through the centre to score with apparent ease. Understandably, Town now looked a supremely confident side, far removed from their first half guise, while Kings had gone from such a position to one of total ineptitude. Charlie Burns pulled off a couple of good saves, but Town added a third through Holmes and a woeful defence capitulated to see them net two more in the last four minutes. The final whistle was a relief to the travelling supporters, who would have every right to feel let down by a second half performance that easily qualifies as the worst of the season.