A Gary Connolly goal on the stroke of half-time was enough to see Kings Langley move into the Southern League Division One Central play-off places with a 1-0 win over Aylesbury United on Saturday.

The managerless Ducks, near the foot of the standings, made a bright start and put the hosts under pressure.

Former Kings player Shaun Owens almost opened the scoring for the visitors but a good stop from the legs of Ant Ladyman prevented the strugglers going in front.

Kings responded with a flowing move which saw Mitchell Weiss pick out Tom Carter, only for the chance to go to waste, whilst a Callum Adebiyi cross was not met by anyone in black and white soon after.

But on the stroke of half-time the hosts got it right. Steve Ward’s cross-field ball found Weiss and he slipped in skipper Connolly, who picked his spot with precision to open the scoring.

Going in behind was perhaps harsh on the Ducks, who had arguably shaded the first period.

But in the second half Kings underlined the gap between the two in the league standings with a far better performance.

Chances came and went for Carter and Connolly before Dean Hitchcock cleared off the line after Stacey Field had rounded Ladyman.

Jack Wood then headed over when well placed for the Ducks before Kings re-asserted themselves on the contest following the introduction of Alex Campana.

The former Watford man broke away only to be denied by keeper Alex Tokarczyk before laying on further chances for Stuart Deaton, Connolly and Carter.

But the visitors thought they had a good penalty appeal turned down when Taylor Collins went down. The referee disagreed, though.

Campana looked to have added a second with a free-kick but the strike was disallowed for offside.

Weiss had the final chance in the closing minutes, darting through only to shoot against the inside of the post.