The crisis engulfing the Pitmen continues to grow around them as another late goal sees Kings Langley claim all three points at the Orbital Fasteners Stadium and leave Steve Burr's side a whopping nine points from safety

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Last week's defeat against Leiston had ended a run of five home games for the Pitmen, which had only garnered one win in that time. Burr elected to change things up for their trip to Hertfordshire as he brought in Harvey Portman and Levi Andoh in the full-back positions as the young pair replaced Zac Hartley and Kyle Bennett respectively. Skipper Lewis Ison was deployed in a more advanced role, playing in front of Keith Lowe and Luke Redfern to offer some protection to the leaky back line that had developed a worrying tendency to concede regular, sloppy goals in the past few weeks

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Kings Langley - sitting third bottom of the Southern Premier League Central, a full five points above today's visitors with two games in hand, were also in the midst of a poor league run of form, having not picked up a win since August when they defeated Leiston. Manager Chris Cummins made three changes to the side that had lost 4-2 at fellow strugglers AFC Rushden & Diamonds last weekend as Sam Okoye-Ahaneku, Aryan Tajbakhsh and Deago Dunbar-Bonnie came in for Ryan Case, James Mulley and Brad Wadkins

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It was an unseasonably mild afternoon on the outskirts of Greater London, with temperatures hovering around the sixteen degree mark at kick-off. There was an impeccably-observed minute's silence in honour of tomorrow's Remembrance Sunday, led by a group of local army cadets. The hosts got off to a flying start and could have taken the lead inside the first two minutes as Wilson De Carvalho found a pocket of space just inside the Hednesford penalty area before striking the foot of Tiernan Brooks' right-hand post with a low, driven effort

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The hosts made absolutely sure just two minutes later as they capitalised on some slack marking from the visitors to strike a wonderful opening goal of the afternoon; full-back Alex Lafleur exchanged passes with De Carvalho down the left before leaving Luke Rowe in his wake and slipping the ball infield to Tajbakhsh. The burly former Crawley Town man picked the ball up thirty yards from goal and struck an unstoppable shot that beat Brooks and nestled in the top corner of the net

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More good play from the hosts in the seventh minute saw Udoka Chima's long ball forwards headed into the path of Dunbar-Bonnie down the left flank by Keith Lowe, which the former Leyton Orient man prodded past Andoh and crossed to the far post where De Carvalho arrived late but could not get any purchase on his drifting header

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A deep free-kick from Kings Langley skipper Jorell Johnson - celebrating 250 appearances for the club today - in the eleventh minute was whipped into the danger zone from thirty yards out, but had a little too much on it for the like of Tajbakhsh or Chime and the Pitmen cleared their lines

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The hosts were wasteful once more on the opposite side of the pitch just two minutes later as a chipped free-kick from Okoye-Ahaneku drifted over the heads of everyone in the six-yard box and was allowed to drop wide of the far post by Brooks

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The Pitmen slowly started to come back into the game, with Adam Livingstone and Todd Parker at the heart of the away side's best passages of play. On fourteen minutes the pair exchanged passes down the left, with Livingstone getting in front of Okoye-Ahaneku but whipping in a deep cross that was too high for either Leroy Lita or Stanley Obinna Anaebonam to attack inside the six-yard box

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Livingstone elected to go it alone two minutes later as he cut inside from the left flank, showing Okoye-Ahaneku a clean pair of heels before drilling in a low shot from just outside the penalty area that was straight at Kings Langley goalkeeper Hafed Al-Droubi

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The away side had a glorious chance to level matters on nineteen minutes as Parker's overhit corner to the far post was recycled by Livingstone, whose cross was headed onto the far post by a glancing header from top scorer Lita, standing six yards from goal

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Some shaky defending from Kings Langley midway through the first period saw the Pitmen press high up the pitch and force individual errors out of the home defenders as they struggled to clear. The ball eventually fell to Parker, whose low shot was smothered by Al-Droubi inside his six-yard box

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A quick break from the home side on twenty-six minutes saw them counter in numbers down the right and play both Okoye-Ahaneku and Cain Keller away up against Portman. Keller's pull pack to De Carvalho found the experienced forward in space on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area, only for the ex-Kettering Town man to blaze his first-time shot well wide of goal

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Two minutes later, Luke Redfern was turned by goalscorer Tajbahsh as the forward laid the ball off to Keller, whose attempted angled drive from twelve yards out was blocked by Lowe and behind for a corner kick

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It had been an entertaining first half hour of play, with both sides having good chances and throwing caution to the wind as the sun started to set beyond the trees opposite the ground

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Portman picked up a booking for mystifying reasons on the half-hour mark as he was given a long and unnecessary lecture from referee Mr Ellsmore for an incident out on the Kings Langley right. It was to be a feature of the afternoon by the match official, who constantly broke up play needlessly to hand out warnings to players on both sides when he felt it was needed

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On thirty-three minutes, the Pitmen were again wasteful from a promising position as Obinna Anaebonam went on one of his slalom-like runs across the edge of the Kings Langley penalty area but saw his attempted shot blocked by a foot from the covering James Kaloczi. A pass to Parker, who was square and unmarked, would probably have been a better option with the benefit of hindsight for the Norwegian

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Brooks kept his side in contention with a fine double save on thirty-six minutes as Keller managed to force his way past Rowe to get on the end of a pass from Jake Gardiner-Smith, driving in a shot that the on-loan stopper pushed away down his right. The ball ran kindly to De Carvalho, whose weak follow-up shot was also pushed away by the goalkeeper as he got across his goal to reach the ball

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With six minutes of the half remaining, the lively Livingstone once again go the better of Okoye-Ahandeku as he drifted in off the left flank once more, playing an angled ball into the path of Lita inside the Kings Langley penalty area. The veteran striker did well to hold the ball up with his back to goal before laying it off to Parker, whose right-footed effort looked to be heading for the right-hand corner of the net until Al-Droubi managed to stick out a leg and divert the ball behind for a corner kick

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Neat play from the Pitmen on forty-three minutes saw Parker pick up a pass from Ison and take the ball towards the penalty area before laying it off to Rowe with a neat outside-of-the-boot pass. The former Redditch United man attempted a shot from the edge of the box but saw his effort deflected just past Al-Droubi's right-hand post for yet another corner to Hednesford

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The Pitmen had come back into proceedings as the first half had gone on after such a shaky start but were yet again left to chase the game in the second period after looking rather impotent in the final third throughout the first forty-five minutes, wasting good chances and allowing several promising moves down each wing to peter out without an end product

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Kings Langley looked to make another strong start to the second half as De Carvalho struck an early warning shot at goal on forty-nine minutes, lifting a free-kick from nearly thirty yards out at goal but only finding the safe hands of Brooks

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Rowe was the latest player to suffer the long arm of the law from Mr Ellsmore on fifty-four minutes as a Hednesford corner was cleared as far as Lefleur, who was fouled by the midfielder and earned him a yellow card for his troubles from the official

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The Pitmen were struggling to make any early headway into the Kings Langley third of the pitch, with the hosts also making an impact on the Hednesford defence as they were content to hoof the ball into the space in behind the full-backs where possible. Parker's run and slide-rule pass to Livingstone on fifty-six minutes sent the Scotsman away down the flank, although his low driven cross into the penalty area drifted away from danger as neither Lita of Obinna Anaebonam - again - had the pace or desire to make up the ground and turn the loose ball home

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Just before the hour mark, the disappointing Obinna Anaebonam was taken off in favour of Joe Cuff, who slotted into the right inside-forward role vacated by the Norwegian

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Cuff's first touch on sixty-one minutes saw the former Stafford Rangers man make a darting run into the Kings Langley penalty area from the right-hand side of the penalty area but saw his firmly-struck left-footed effort blocked by Chima, who was playing well for the hosts

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The Pitmen finally got themselves back on level terms on sixty-four minutes as they were gifted a goal through Al-Droubi; Redfern brought the ball out of defence for the visitors and played a long, direct ball over the top of the Kings Langley defence and into the path of Cuff, who was beaten to the ball by the onrushing Kings Langley goalkeeper. However, he could only play the ball straight into the path of Rowe, who stood thirty-five yards from goal. The midfielder struck a first-time shot back at goal, lifted it over Al-Droubi and the covering defenders to find the empty net and grab what was his first Hednesford goal

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The Pitmen had their tails up at this point and probably should have gone on to take the points at this juncture as they pressed a nervy Kings Langley defence in search of that elusive winner. They went within a whisker of turning the game on its head through Lita on sixty-seven minutes as Rowe intercepted a loose pass from Okoye-Ahaneku and played Lita in on goal, only for the striker's shot to loop up off the foot of defender Chima and clip the top of the crossbar before the ball was eventually cleared

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Kings Langley elected to make two changes in four minutes at this juncture as De Carvalho was replaced by recently signed former Tring Athletic man Guiseppe Delgaudio and Dunbar-Bonnie came off in favour of ex-Watford youngster Jordan Parkes

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On seventy-three minutes, Andoh made a rare foray into the Kings Langley half as he picked up a pass from Ison and broke down the right, beating Lafluer for pace but tamely crossing straight into the arms of Al-Droubi at his near post when both Lita and Cuff were inside the six-yard box

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Ison picked up the Pitmen's third booking of the afternoon two minutes later as he was shown a yellow card for a foul on Kaloczi after the pair had challenged for a high ball just outside the Kings Langley penalty area

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With twelve minutes remaining, Cuff wasted another good opening for the visitors as Parker made a move forwards before laying the ball off to the mercurial winger to the right of the Kings Langley penalty area. The substitute took a touch before shanking his left-footed effort high over the crossbar, much to the amusement of the small home crowd and the frustration of the small handful of Hednesford supporters and officials present

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The hosts made their final change of the afternoon with ten minutes left as Keller was replaced by ex-AFC Wimbledon youngster Finlay Macnab, who had joined the club this week

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With six minutes remaining, the Pitmen made their second change of the afternoon as James McQuilkin came on in place of goalscorer Rowe in a bid to add more nous to the midfield in the final push for a winner

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The visitors were left frustrated by another marginal call from the inconsistent Mr Ellsmore on eighty-five minutes as he denied them what they believed to be a blatant penalty kick as Lita went down in the penalty area under a challenge from Chima. Despite the vociferous protests of the men in sky blue and the Hednesford bench, the referee was unmoved and the game continued

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Still the Pitmen pressed in search of a winner, with Ison drilling a great chance just wide on eighty-six minutes after a Parker corner kick was cleared to him on the edge of the penalty area, with the former Coventry United man firing a right-footed volley inches wide of Al-Droubi's right-hand post from fully twenty yards out

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At the other end, a rare trip into Hednesford territory from Kings Langley a minute later saw goalscorer Tajbakhsh shown a yellow card for manhandling Redfern as the pair chased down a long punt forwards

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This seemed to spark a late rally in the hosts, as they looked to try and finish the game with a flourish. Parkes tested the reflexes of Brooks in the final minute of normal time with an inswinging free-kick from the left that the young stopper pushed away from goal for a Kings Langley corner kick

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As has been the case for the majority of the campaign, however, the Pitmen were ultimately left with nothing to show for their efforts once more as they were denied a point by Parkes in the second of four minutes of added time; a crossfield pass from skipper Johnson found Macnab, who chested the ball down before rolling it into the path of Parkes on the edge of the box. The youngster unleashed a fine curling shot that did just enough to curl beyond the reach of Brooks to find the top corner of the net and seal all three points for the hosts, leaving the Pitmen out on the feet and devastated at yet another late goal conceded

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Assistant manager Neil Tooth was still fuming at the late non-award of the penalty kick and vented his anger at Mr Ellsmore at the final whistle, earning himself a red card for his vociferous protests

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Defeat leaves the Pitmen in dire straits, a full ten points from safety and having played up to five games more than some of the clubs around them. You simply can't see a way out of the mess they are currently in, with no league wins in seven games and still only that solitary win over Rushden back in October. The bruised and battered Pitmen take another break from league duty next Saturday when they face a daunting-looking second trip of the season to league rivals Coalville Town, fresh from their own F.A. Cup run to the first round proper

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Kings Langley: Al-Droubi, Okoye-Ahaneku, Lafleur, Kaloczi, Chima, Johnson ©, Keller (Macnab 80), Gardiner-Smith, De Carvalho (Delgaudio 68),  Tajbakhsh ▆,  Dunbar-Bonnie (Parkes 72)       Subs Unused: 

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Hednesford Town: Brooks, Andoh, Portman ▆, Ison © ▆, Lowe, Redfern, Obinna Anaebonam (Cuff 58), Parker, Lita, Rowe ▆ (McQuilkin 84), Livingstone       Subs Unused: Bennett, Hartley, Clayton

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