Kings Langley turned in a battling performance against high-flying Taunton Town, but the early concession of two penalties ultimately proved too big a handicap to recover from as they were beaten 2-1.

The Peacocks are in a rich vein of form and made a confident start, penning Kings back in the early stages.

Keeper Alfie Marriott, returning to the ranks after a brief sojourn, was in immediate action as he turned a piledriver round the post and the visitors were similarly grateful when a Tobias Holmes ‘goal’ from a towering header was disallowed for an earlier push.

However the reprieve was only temporary as just two minutes later the tricky Ross Stearn weaved into the box only to be brought down by Kyle Ajayi’s desperate lunge. The previously disappointed Holmes converted the resulting penalty with just ten minutes played.

The same players were involved in the second penalty incident just a few minutes later when Ajayi was again adjudged to have fouled Stearn as he barrelled into the area and Holmes reprised his supporting role by efficiently scoring from the spot.

The double whammy was a severe setback for Langley, but to their credit they did not buckle and gradually gained some attacking momentum of their own with both Max Bustamante and Joe Lawal testing the keeper with fierce low drives.

The growing confidence was finally rewarded when Ferrell Charles capped what was to be an impressive first start for the youngster by cleverly hooking home just before half time.

A Jamie Jellis corner from the right found its way to Erin Amu and the skipper’ s lofted through ball was met almost on the volley by Charles. The timing of the score was just the boost needed to give the visitors every hope of a second-half comeback.

Boss Chris Cummins introduced Arel Amu at half-time, quickly followed by Will Hoskins in an effort to counter the physical dominance of the Taunton defence. Both were soon in the thick of the action as Kings strived to break down the resilient home rear guard, but despite developing some promising opportunities, the quality of the final ball was often found wanting.

Taunton, while content to sit on the lead, were regularly dangerous on the break and Marriott had to be at his best to keep out one bullet header that would surely have sealed the points for the hosts.

As it was the game ebbed and flowed in equal measure. Kings foraging for openings right to the end and both Kyle Ajayi and Jellis went close with speculative efforts, but Taunton were in no mood to surrender their advantage and saw out the final stages of the match with efficient game management to secure the points.

The defeat came after promising youngster Jack Wood had moved to Southend United for an undisclosed fee.

The 19-year-old moved to Kings from Berkhamsted in February 2020 and went on to score seven goals in 46 appearances, having played in a variety of positions.

Cummins told the club website: "Jack came to us as a youth player and showed great potential in his first few sessions training with the first team.

"With our philosophies as a club that wants to develop and promote from within, we gave Jack his debut as a 17-year-old. Jack continued to improve and became a regular starter at a very young age.

"He has now been involved with the first team for nearly three years and like many young players will have highs and lows, however as a coach I believe in giving young players the chance to play even when things are not going well and to Jack's credit, he has overcome every obstacle."