Kings turned in a battling performance against high flying Taunton, but the early concession of two penalties ultimately proved too big a handicap to recover from.

The Peacocks are currently in a rich vein of form and made a confident start, penning Kings back in the early stages. Keeper Alfie Marriott, returning to the ranks after a brief sojourn, was in immediate action as he turned a pile driver round the post and Kings were similarly grateful when a Tobias Holmes ‘score’ from a towering header was disallowed for an earlier push.

However the reprieve was only temporary as just two minutes later the tricky Ross Stearn weaved into the box only to be brought down by Kyle Ajayi’s desperate lunge. The previously disappointed Holmes converted the resulting penalty with just 10 minutes played.

The tragedy continued with the same cast just a few minutes later when Ajayi was again adjudged to have fouled Stearn as he barrelled into the area and Holmes reprised his supporting role by efficiently scoring from the spot.

The double whammy was a severe setback for Langley, but to their credit they did not buckle and gradually gained some attacking momentum of their own with both Max Bustamante and Joe Lawal testing the keeper with fierce low drives. The growing confidence was finally rewarded when Ferrell Charles capped what was to be an impressive first start for the youngster by cleverly hooking home just before half time. A Jamie Jellis corner from the right found its way to Erin Amu and the skipper’ s lofted through ball was met almost on the volley by Charles. The timing of the score was just the boost needed to give every hope of a second half comeback.

Langley introduced Arel Amu at half time, quickly followed by Will Hoskins in an effort to counter the physical dominance of the Taunton defence. Both were soon in the thick of things as Kings strived to break down the resilient home rear guard,, but despite developing some promising opportunities, the quality of the final ball was often found wanting.

Taunton, while content to sit on the lead, were regularly dangerous on the break and Marriott had to be at his best to keep out one bullet header that would surely have sealed the points for the hosts.

As it was the game ebbed and flowed in equal measure. Kings foraging for openings right to the end and both Kyle Ajayi and Jamie Jellis went close with speculative efforts, but Taunton were in no mood to surrender their advantage and saw out the final stages of the match with efficient game management to secure the points.