Kings Langley turned in a spirited display at high-flying Kings Lynn Town but still emerged frustratingly pointless despite their best endeavours as they were beaten 3-2.

Having been 2-0 down after 20 minutes, and then 3-1 behind five minutes into the second half, the visitors gave themselves the last half-an-hour to try and find an equaliser, but they were unable to score a third against their resilient hosts as they remained fourth from bottom in the Southern League Premier Divison.

Boss Paul Hobbs took the opportunity to include three of the club’s in-form Under-18 players in the match-day squad in Aidan Collins, Harrison Kenny and Lewis Hodgins.

The youthful newcomers witnessed a slow start from their senior colleagues which saw early pressure from the hosts quickly rewarded when Michael Clunan swept the ball home after Langley failed to clear.

The early breakthrough inspired the home side to surge forward with the dangerous Tom Siddons a constant threat.

Kings too had their moments and Mitchell Weiss was desperately unlucky when, after beating home custodian, Alex Street to a Brendan Ocran through pass, the ball somehow contrived to spin behind him and the chance was lost.

Street was again to the fore just minutes later, tipping Ocran’s well-executed free-kick onto the post.

The keeper’s intervention paid immediate dividends as, with the Linnets’ next attack, Siddons deftly converted Cameron Norman’s low cross to double the hosts’ advantage.

The setback galvanised the visitors into a period of sustained attacking play with both Ocran and Kieran Turner stretching the home defence on the flanks.

Their efforts were rewarded when a deep cross from Turner was headed firmly goalwards by the marauding Callum Adebiyi. The ball was adjudged to have crossed the line by an attentive linesman despite Tom Ward’s desperate efforts to clear.

The reduction in arrears was just the tonic Kings needed and they started the second period with real attacking intent.

Unfortunately for them, the visitors’ enterprise was cruelly undone when an innocuous delivery into the box was scrambled home by Siddons to restore Town’s two-goal advantage.

That setback signalled the introduction of Steve Ward and the Kings’ talisman made an immediate impact, sliding home an immaculate Weiss through ball with his first touch.

Kings strived manfully to restore parity right to the end, but the hosts remained steadfastly resilient in defence to deny their oponents a third goal.

Kings Langley: Hampton; Pattison (Keating 80), Connolly, Johnson, Adebiyi; Ocran, Folarin, Hitchcock, Turner (Coldicott-Stevens 72); Weiss, Price (Ward 56). Subs not used: Kenny and Collins.