Kings Langley paid the price for failing to translate a dominant first-half display into an end product before having two men sent off as they were beaten 2-0 at Biggleswade on Saturday.

Hugo Odogwu-Atkinson and Shaun Keane both saw red for the visitors after Ollie Snaith had put Biggleswade in front just after the hour, and Amaru Kaunda made sure of the points for the hosts near the end of 15 minutes of additional time.

Kings boss Jordan Parkes persevered with the new role of skipper Jorell Johnson in midfield with the returning Isaac Pedro alongside him at the expense of Sonny French. With Sam Murphy finally back from a long-term injury, the midfield had an assured look in front of a revamped defence.

Six foot five goalkeeper Daniel Purdue made his debut with another long-term returnee Matt Hall partnering Odogwu-Atkinson. Anthony Ball and Shaun Keane completed the defensive unit, which dealt more than adequately with anything Biggleswade had to offer in a first half that Kings dominated.

However, opportunities at both ends were few, the best of which came early when Rayan Clark produced some nifty left-wing footwork to beat two men and cross for Pedro to blast the ball literally yards over the crossbar.

A Louie Collier goal-bound shot was blocked and Hall’s effort from a corner was just wide of the post, while the home side’s best moment came when the industrious Alex Marsh put his finish over the bar after good approach work, but the break came with Kings looking the more likely to break the deadlock.

It was a known fact among Kings supporters that their team never had the rub of the green last season, but early games in this campaign seemed to have finally seen a balance as they enjoyed a small amount of good fortune on trips to Waltham Abbey and Kidlington.

That particular train seems to have departed the station of late and misfortune struck again when Johnson was forced off immediately after the restart with a calf injury.

Temi Akinbusoye was introduced, but the balance of the team was never to look the same and Biggleswade grabbed the opportunity to force their way back into the contest.

Odogwu-Atkinson committed a cautionable foul centrally on the edge of the box and Marsh’s free-kick was initially blocked, but Kings’ inability to deal with the second ball surfaced again as Snaith rammed the rebound home.

The visitors hit back almost immediately with a Collier break, but Tyler Josephs pulled off a stunning save to preserve the lead and then the pendulum was to swing irretrievably away from them.

Odogwu-Atkinson reacted to a kick from Daniel Bond that led to a spat and the referee booked them both, but he consequences were greater for the Kings number five who departed the field of play.

With a hill to climb, Kings’ ten men gave it their all, but the hill became a mountain when Anthony Ball, who had hardly put a foot wrong all afternoon, lost possession and Kaunda had a free run on goal, only to be pulled back by the chasing Keane, for which he received the inevitable red card.

The referee found an extraordinary 15 minutes of time added and in the 12th of those Kings sent all nine up for a free-kick. The delivery was a poor one and Kaunda was able to run the length of the opposite half to tap home a somewhat cruel second goal.

Despite a poor run of no wins in the last six games it is a measure of the competitive nature of Division One Central of the Southern League that Kings have only dropped two places in that time and remain three points outside the play offs.

However, being eight points above the relegation zone, they need to ensure that their first half performance translates itself into a return to winning ways soon.