The close relationship between the two village sides was set aside as both embarked on a virtual six pointer with Premier survival as the stakes. Kings arrived on the back of a three game winning streak that had seen them move out of the bottom three and Hartley had felt the pressure as the gap below them lessened to a mere two points, but the contest was to provoke reference to the classic horror story as the pit of relegation was a constant backcloth, while the pendulum swung from Kings early dominance to a Hartley comeback that was to ease their worries.

Joseph Lawal was provided with a Jamie Jellis pass from the right that saw him shoot wide from close range within the first twenty seconds, but there was no mistake on thirteen minutes when Jellis was again the provider with a wing ball to Shaqai Forde, who cut inside, rode two challenges and delivered a stunning shot from the edge of the box into the far corner. Minutes later, the same combination almost provided the same result, but the shot was blocked to spin to safety, as the Row seemingly had no answer to the speed and trickery of Forde and the playmaking of Jellis.

Alex Lafleur’s incursion into the box on the other side saw his shot blocked, but when presented with a kind rebound, he fired wide. The home side had been responsible for the game swinging from end to end at pace and had their own chance when Jorell Johnson cleared off the line with Alfie Marriott beaten and were now, themselves, looking dangerous in attack. Jordan Edwards had a chance to equalise, but his effort was deflected for a corner, but it was to be a defensive mix up between Sam Dreyer and Aryan Tajbakhsh that presented Adam Allen with a straightforward opening that he gratefully accepted on the cusp of half time.

It had been a superb first half display from both teams, full of attacking football that defied the need for caution often displayed in games of this magnitude and as such, it was even more of a shock that the second half was the entire opposite. Nerves apparently took over and artistry disappeared as the successful pass rate of both teams plummeted and the ball spent the majority of its time in the air. Officialdom played its part in the game becoming increasingly fragmented, but one moment of quality was enough to win it for the home side as substitute Kofi Halliday got free on the right and his cross was headed home by Allen. Home keeper Luke Williams was increasingly untroubled by Kings’ spasmodic attacks and Hartley played the match out to claim the valuable points.