Kings Langley battled through Saturday’s gale-force winds to claim their fourth consecutive win and move up to third in Southern League Division One Central following a 3-1 victory over fellow high-flyers Chalfont St Peter.

The clash between two teams in the top four was hugely influenced and overall, marred, by the conditions, making the game sometimes farcical as the ball not only changed direction in flight, but sometimes ended up behind the player clearing.

The match boasted the division’s two leading scorers, Mitchell Weiss for Kings and Saints’ Tony Mendy, but neither were fully match fit, although visiting keeper Michael Power-Simpson took the ball off the toes of Weiss from an Immanuelson Duku cross in the 22nd minute in the first real attacking incident.

An understandably drab contest suddenly sparked to life ten minutes later, courtesy of the treacherous elements, as David Hutton took a questioning free-kick that swung into the box and swirled over the top of everybody into the far corner of the net.

Jack Hutchinson replied with a cross that deceived Xavi Comas, but was scrambled away, but Hutton built on previous experience to swing in a corner that the head of Alex Paine deflected into his own net to make it 2-0 to the hosts.

Kings rested their case at the break and challenged their opponents to equal or make more of the wind advantage in the second half.

Comas had to be at his best to block a shot as Mendy sparked into life, but Duku was unlucky when, on a rare Kings break, he chipped the keeper but the ball hit the post.

Continued away pressure resulted in a penalty when Victor Osobu was felled midway through the half, but Comas dived to his right to save Michael Murray’s spot-kick, the third that Saints had missed in the last four games, all with different takers.

The visitors knew their luck was out when they struck a post and Hutton immediately hit them on the break. His pass out to Lorenzo Ferrari on the right wing saw the resultant shot parried, but Hutton was marginally first to the rebound and finding his path to goal blocked, executed an audacious back-heel to slot the ball home.

Osobu was on hand for a close-range conversion of Tyrone Pink’s blocked shot to spoil Comas’ bid for a clean sheet, but a strange afternoon belonged to the home side as they remained within three points of leaders AFC Rushden & Diamonds.