It was groundhog day for Kings Langley as they produced an early firework display that lit up Gaywood Park to open up a 2-0 lead at half-time last night, only to fall to earth in the second as Dorchester Town battled back for a point.

The 2-2 draw extended Kings’ Southern League Premier Division run without a win to 10 games, but it looked like their two-month search for three points was set to come to an end by the interval.

The home side flew from the traps with such ferocity that they could have been four up in the first ten minutes, as a Gareth Price cross was steered just wide by Mitchell Weiss, before the excellent Chris Weale pulled off three telling saves from Weiss, Stevie Ward and then Weiss again.

The Magpies then started to find the willing David Jerrard an outlet on the left and he forced debutant keeper Martin Bennett, signed on-loan from Hitchin Town, into a flying tip around the post before curling a shot just over.

Kings were firing on all cylinders, with high-energy pressure denying the visitors any time on the ball and some crisp incisive passing that threatened to carve open the defence.

When the opening goal arrived though, it came from a more direct route as Price fed Kieron Turner on the right and he elected to cut inside and deliver a shot from the corner of the box that arced into the top far corner of the net.

A Dean Hitchcock rocket rattled the advertising hoardings to the right of the post and a Brendan Ocran header to a Turner cross was just over as Town struggled to stay in the game, their best chance falling predictably to Jerrard, who turned it past the post.

Then, as the referee looked to end the first half, a sublime Ward through ball saw Weiss break under pressure from the imposing figure of Ross Carmichael and steer the ball home off the advancing Weale.

The performance had been one of, if not the, best of the season and would surely provide a springboard for the overdue first home win.

But within four minutes of the restart Billy Lowes had found the space to unleash a 25- yard screamer into the net and the ghost of past lost opportunities appeared on the touchline.

A left-wing cross looked harmless, but Dom Panesar-Dower’s stretch just got a toe to it and the slow motion ball deflected off both Lowes and the post past the wrong-footed Bennett.

Kings tried hard to wrestle the advantage back, but produced only two good chances, as opposed to the multitude of the first half. Both fell to Ocran and both were straight at the keeper.

So the quest for a victory continues, leaving management and supporters attempting to analyse another frustrating Jekyll and Hyde performance.

Kings Langley: Bennett; Connolly, Johnson, Adebiyi; Folarin, Hitchock; Ocran, Ward, Turner (Coldicott-Stevens 84); Weiss, Price. Subs not used: Pattison, Bateman, Kenny, Collins.