Kings Langley fell to a heavy 4-0 defeat away to Tring Athletic in their third pre season friendly of the season.

From the first whistle, the home side were in total control, outplaying Kings when in possession and remaining organised without the ball to achieve a well deserved clean sheet for themselves

With the opening exchanges being closely fought and physical, both teams were trying to take control of the game, with what was to be the Kings’ best chance of the first half, with a header flicked on from a free kick looking destined to find the far corner. The goalkeeper made a smart save down to his right hand side with the rebound being flagged offside by the linesman. On the half hour mark, a Tring break saw an outside of the foot pass down the left channel, with the resulting cut back being finished off by the Tring striker.

With this goal, Tring grew in confidence and were able to exploit Kings down the wings with their pace and end product. This was shown in the 39th min, with the home side able to play round the Kings defence, once again resulting in a cut back from the left hand side and the ball being tapped home to make double the home side’s lead. After almost making it 3-0 four minutes before half time, the away side needed the whistle to regroup and improve their performance in the second half.

Despite an extremely underwhelming first half, Kings began to look more lively, as they began to play with more intensity, finding the wingers more frequently. However, the lack of threat to the goalkeeper did pose an issue for Kings as they struggled to produce a clear cut chance. Tring were able to take advantage of Kings, who began to push higher up the pitch, which left them vulnerable in behind the backline. The home side’s direct, high intensity game plan began to tire out the Kings players, as they created many threatening openings throughout the second half.

After some missed opportunities, the home side eventually made it 3-0 with another cut back, which left the striker to tap into an empty net. The quality of passes down the channels, combined with the pace and hold up play of the Tring strikers and wingers proved a massive issue for Kings. Three minutes later, it was to get even worse for the visitors, with the Tring player running in behind and rounding the oncoming goalkeeper, before his cross eventually found its way onto a Tring head, who headed the ball into an open goal. There were many moments towards the closing stages of the game where Tring should have scored more, but the referee whistled for the final time what was a bitterly disappointing night for Kings.

Kings Langley were simply outplayed by a Tring side who were able to win the majority of duels, show an excellent range of accurate passes and remaining at a high tempo throughout the entirety of the game. Lessons were learned from this fixture, and Kings Langley must work hard to avoid another defeat like that. Pre season continues as the Kings look to keep preparing for a highly competitive Southern League Central campaign.