Two early goals were enough to send Kings Langley to a 2-0 defeat at new Southern League Division One Central leaders Biggleswade Town on Saturday.

With season-long leaders Bedford Town suffering an alarming implosion on the home straight, Biggleswade had taken over the top spot in midweek and were in no mood to relinquish their hard won advantage.

The all-green kit of the Waders and the all-red of Kings brightened up a blustery afternoon, but if that was to be viewed as symbolic, then it soon became clear that it was to be a case of green for go and red for stop.

The game was in its fourth minute when Lewis Smith was cautioned for a needless foul and from the resultant free-kick there followed a shot from Luke Andrews that Gabriel Ortelli held but saw the ball twist out of his grasp and over the line.

Five minutes later and the Langley defence was pedestrian as Harry Draper drilled in a shot to double the scoreline and Kings feared the worst.

Central defender Matt Hall limped off after 22 minutes, to be replaced by Will Bishop, but the formidable front four of the Waders continued to expose the visitors’ vulnerability and with the midfield largely ineffective, Kings were to resort to long balls to the front pairing of Louie Collier and Rene Howe.

This did produce some chances, but the Waders’ keeper Jack Berman, who was Kings player of the season last term, was always perfectly positioned to deal with ease with everything the visitors could muster.

Half-time was reached without further damage, but in a second period that produced little cheer for the visiting players or fans, the ever-dangerous Draper was denied a hat-trick when his efforts hit both post and bar.

Hugo Odogwu-Atkinson stuck to his defensive task manfully and Anthony Ball produced some telling crosses as the game ground to its conclusion, but the final whistle sparked scenes that contrasted the emotions of the two teams, Kings having suffered their fourth consecutive loss on the road and Town’s title aspirations taking a giant step forward as news came in of another Bedford defeat.