Kings Langley had a man-of-the match performance from goalkeeper Haf Al-Droubi to thank for a share of the spoils against a vibrant Barwell team as Monday night’s clash ended goalless.

The keeper made a string of outstanding saves to preserve parity as the home side tried just about everything to break the deadlock.

Barwell attacked from the outset with the pacy Beck-Ray Enoru a constant threat on the right and it was the flying winger who was the first to be thwarted by Al-Droubi’s heroics when his snap shot was confidently fielded by the keeper. That set the trend, with Enoru the regular outlet as the hosts poured forward in search of early success

Chris Cummins’ side had their attacking moments and a great move culminated with Sam Okoye-Ahaneku crashing a cross shot against the bar, closely followed by a fierce Jamie Jellis drive which was just too high.

Generally though, it was the home side who dominated the attacking exchanges, as Enoru squeezed a shot wide, Tiago Nassunculo fired off target from another good position, before Brad Hickey steered a free header wide with the goal gaping.

Despite these openings, it was Kings who had the best opportunity of the opening period when, on the stroke of half-time, Harry Crawford nodded down a free-kick to the predatory Ken Feyi. For once, the prolific marksman’s touch deserted him and a great opportunity went begging.

Kings changed shape in the second period to counter the Enoru threat with some success but a further re-organisation soon followed when defensive lynch pin James Kaloczi was injured. Midfielder Cain Keller came off the bench and the versatile Aryan Tajbakhsh moved into the back line.

The talented Keller was soon to the fore when he combined superbly with Jellis and Feyi to cut through the home defence and send a rising drive goalwards, only to be denied by a superb fingertip save from Andy Wycherley.

Back came Barwell and a procession of free-kicks required resilient defending from Kings and heroic intervention from Al-Droubi. Most prominent were two tremendous point-blank saves to deny Jack Deakin and Cameron Moore as the frustrated forwards looked skywards in astonishment.

Barwell became ever more frantic in their attempts to force a winner but resolute defending and outstanding goalkeeping continually denied the hosts a breakthrough.

A nervy nine minutes of added time saw some more anxious moments for Kings but some gritty defending and keeper Al-Droubi’s superb individual display ensured the visitors came away with a hard earned point.

The draw leaves Kings fifth in the Southern League Premier Central table, but their attention now switches to the FA Cup and Saturday’s second qualifying round trip to a Chelmsford City side sitting fourth in National League South.