A week is a long time in football. In that time, Kings have gone from scaling the heights of ecstasy with an epic victory over high flying Hayes & Yeading to plunging the depths of despair in suffering a crushing 6 – 2 reversal to a Poole side who ruthlessly exploited the opportunities that came their way.

In truth, the score-line was harsh, but the ease with which the home side amassed their six of the best from a minority share of possession will give Kings’ manager, Chris Cummins, plenty to ponder.

It had all started so positively for Kings, with Jack Wood jinking through the home defence before cannoning a tremendous shot off the post and just clearing the bar with the rebound. The near miss seemed to galvanise the home side and they soon exploited Kings’ seemingly routine vulnerability from corners, when crashing a header against the bar before quickly recycling the ball for Will Spetch to head home. Langley then compounded their corner concession by giving the ball away cheaply in midfield, leaving the way clear for ace marksman Tony-James Lee to race clear and slot past the advancing Lee Axworthy.

Kings responded well to the setback and Jack Wood found himself on the end of a searching Gary Connolly cross, but the close attention of home custodian Tommy Scott thwarted the teenager and the chance was lost.

The half ended soon after leaving the visitors perplexed to be facing a two goal deficit after dominating possession, but they made a lively start to the second period and within minutes, a piercing run by Edu set up Will Hoskins to cleverly steer the ball home and inspire immediate
thoughts of a comeback. However, these were quickly supressed when Lee again took advantage of a misplaced pass to zero in on goal and restore the home side’s two goal cushion. It was one that became even more comfortable just minutes later when a promising Kings’ attack broke down and Poole countered swiftly, culminating in the predatory Lee completing his hat trick.

Kings were down but not yet out and made a spirited riposte when Edu again made inroads on the left and saw his low cross hammered home by the supporting Jack Wood to once again revive faint hopes of a comeback.

Those thoughts were emphatically dispelled when Luke Burbridge’s quick fire brace, executed with the minimum of endeavour, effectively ended the match as a contest. There was still time for Kings to be denied the last laugh, when a perfectly valid Kyle Connolly conversion was farcically disallowed for offside because the officials “ Didn’t know who scored”.

That injustice, however, would have only been a meagre consolation in the face of a lamentable defensive display which is hard to explain in the wake of the recent resilience shown against some of the division’s more potent attacking forces. In an, admittedly, open and expansive game, Kings were, unfortunately, ‘Open all hours’ and allowed the home side far too many pilfering opportunities, which they devoured with alacrity.