Kings Langley made it beyond the first round of the Herts Senior Cup with a resilient and determined 3-1 victory against old rivals Royston Town, defending superbly in the face of the slick passing Crows, who are well established in the division Kings vacated last season due to relegation.

Debutant centre back Hugo Odogwu-Atkinson was conspicuous in forming a solid barrier alongside ever dependable skipper Jorell Johnson on Tuesday night as the home side, featuring ex-Kings Josh Coldicott-Stevens, Alfie Williams and Cain Keller, surged forward in search of an early breakthrough.

Not to be outdone, Langley, fresh from their 3-3 draw at Barton Rovers on Saturday, frequently looked dangerous on the counter with in-form Rayan Clarke making regular in-roads down the left.

Former favourite Keller was the first to go close, whistling a low drive just past the post, but from the restart it was the away side who drew first blood.

Kieran Patterson, who was industrious throughout, pinged an exquisite cross-field pass to the marauding Cheyce Grant and the wide man’s searching low cross was superbly swept home by the irrepressible Clarke to give Kings the lead.

It got even better on the half hour when Atkinson drove forward and put Clarke clear, only for the speedy forward to be unceremoniously bundled over by Royston skipper Coldicott-Stevens at the expense of a penalty.

Clarke, in confident mood, picked himself up and converted the kick with ease to score his fifth goal in three games.

Royston immediately rang the changes, making a double substitution closely followed by a third, all before half-time, but they could make no immediate impact with the visitors’ advantage preserved at the break.

The home side came out in determined mood for the second period and Coldicott-Stevens quickly reduced the arrears with a stunning free-kick from the edge of the box in the 53rd minute.

The response was almost immediate when substitute Louie Collier’s fiercely struck volley drew a fantastic reflex save from home custodian, Louis Chadwick.

Buoyed by that reprieve, Royston poured forward in search of parity but Kings were in no mood to relinquish their hard-won advantage and repelled the Crows’ increasingly desperate attacks with grim determination.

The pressure was finally relieved, in added time, when the predatory Collier robbed a hesitant Chadwick in the box and rolled the ball home to seal a deserved victory.

There was still time for Kings’ loanee keeper Ronnie Sandford to make a blinding save from an Adam Murray header but Jordan Parkes’ men were already thinking of an enticing home tie against near neighbours Berkhamsted in the next round.