Kings Langley’s disappointing season ended with another narrow defeat as they lost 2-1 at home to a AFC Rushden & Diamonds side who had had the consolation of lifting themselves off the foot of the table thanks to an end-of-season run of form.

The visitors went ahead in the 12th minute when Pharrell Anderson shrugged off a challenge down the right wing and his low cross gave Jenson Cooper the easiest of tasks to drill the ball home.

With both sides already relegated, the match was still fiercely contested and Kings drew level with a goal of the highest quality from Leon Chambers-Parillon.

Picking up the ball on the edge of the box, he turned and fired a shot into the roof of the net that gave Dean Snedker no chance.

Watford Observer: Kings Langley's seven-season stint at Step 3 has come to an end.Kings Langley's seven-season stint at Step 3 has come to an end. (Image: Len Kerswill)

Kings looked to be gaining the ascendancy, with Sami Bessadi firing a snap-shot just over, but another well-worked move was their undoing on the cusp of half-time.

A left-wing surge by Fraser Corden was too much for his marker and a volley from the cross by Will Glennon put Diamonds in the driving seat.

A Bessadi run and shot at the start of the second period was well blocked by Snedker and Glennon fired over from a good position, but the second half fell flat as both sides gradually brought the curtain down on a season that they will want to forget.

It had seemed that the mid-season arrival of Chris Winton and his managerial team had given Kings a path out of their demise, with a refreshed team spirit and stability in player selection leading to some fine wins, but injuries to key players in the last half dozen matches depleted a small squad and the club can justly feel it never had its share of ‘the rub of the green’ throughout the whole season.

Watford Observer: Chris Winton and the Kings coaching staff.Chris Winton and the Kings coaching staff. (Image: Len Kerswill)

Despite their relegation, Kings can be proud of their seven seasons in the Southern League Premier in competition with big clubs on a budget that was one of the lowest in the division.

That a village club rose to Step 3 of the pyramid and held its own for that length of time is a feat that everyone associated with Kings can take a great amount of pride in.

Those years have seen multiple ground improvements, necessary as the club moved up the pyramid, and will stand Langley in good stead for a future that next season will see them compete with clubs with similar budgets in most cases and not face lengthy and expensive coach trips to away matches.