PEACOCKS DENT KINGS PLAY OFF HOPES

Kings were left lamenting “What might have been”? As a spirited second half fightback failed to glean them a share of
the spoils at high flying Taunton. Kings started brightly enough and a slick early interchange between Mitchell Weiss
and Stevie Ward saw the Kings wide man round home custodian Lloyd Irish only to be denied by the offside flag. The
hosts were quick to respond with their own attacking intent and Kings custodian Alex Tokarczyk was at full stretch to
brilliantly tip over a point black header from Taunton captain Matt Wright. This was a portent of things to come as the
home side’s accurate execution of dead ball situations was a constant menace. Generally, though, Kings coped well in
defence with centre backs Johnson and Adebiyi conspicuous in their defiance of the aerial assault and Kings were still
on occasion stretching the Peacock’s defence with Rohdell Gordon and Ward both making penetrating runs on either
flank. The match continued apace with both teams looking to seize the initiative, but as is so often the case in tight
contests, Lady Luck can be a determining factor and her winsome hand was to intervene cruelly to Kings detriment in
the 31st minute. Kings industrious midfielder, Jacob Cook challenged the equally assiduous Dan Sullivan only for the ball
to ricochet obligingly into the path of prolific Peacock’s striker ‘Rocky’ Neal who was onto the loose ball in a flash to
drive it low into the corner. The goal rocked Kings and worse was to follow as just seven minutes later ‘Rocky’ was again
to the fore when he latched onto a misplaced clearance and hit a great strike that beat the back peddling Tokarczyk
from distance and completed a one, two combination that would have done his Hollywood namesake proud.
Kings were down but not out and could well have reduced the arrears before the interval when an incisive run into the
box by Steve Ward was brought to an abrupt halt by the challenge of Lewis Hall that left the forward sprawling. Many
commentators would have considered the intervention warranted a routine penalty award. Alas! Referee, Mr Martin did
not concur and, in fact, duly cautioned the King’s wingman for simulation. Curiously, Hall was also cautioned in the
same incident, presumably for his vocal endorsement of the sanction inflicted on Ward. That significant incident was the
final action of the half and and it was clear Manager, Steve Conroy had his work cut out during the interval if Kings were
to salvage anything.
Kings certainly started the second period positively with both Weiss and Gordon stinging the palms of Irish with snap
shots but the home defence was proving very resilient in the face of increased Kings pressure. That was until the 61 st
minute when Hitchcock’s perceptive forward pass was nodded down by Weiss to Ward who executed the most exquisite
of lobs over Irish to reduce the arrears. Just a minute later only the resilience of the defensive wall prevented a Connor
Smith piledriver of a free kick restoring immediate parity as Kings looked to increase the potency of their attacks. The
home side, however, were not without their own near misses and only a great reflex save by Tokarczyk from a Shane
White header prevented restoration of their two goal cushion. Back came Kings with Rene Howe twice going close in
rapid succession only to be denied by Irish with fingertip saves. In a last throw of the dice Kings introduced 17 year old
Edu Toiny-Pendred up front and the youngster almost made a dramatic impact as he swooped on a spilled save by Irish
only for the home custodian to recover brilliantly to avert the danger. The home side saw out the remaining minutes
without further alarm leaving Kings to ponder a missed opportunity and their ‘play off’ ambitions on a knife edge