NEW BOSS EDWARDS WAKES UP SUPER KS
KINGSTONIAN picked the perfect time to produce their best performance of the season and give themselves a fighting chance of avoiding the drop.
Leiston went into the game in play-off contention but Ks looked like the top five side from the moment they took an early lead.
And the visitors’ two goals came from their only two shots of the entire afternoon
Ks boss Craig Edwards has engineered a sharp upturn in fortunes for the Kingsmeadow outfit.
And he had few doubts about the result.
He told The NLP: “I woke up confident because we had a game plan and we stuck to it.
“We got a bit sloppy after we went two-goals up. And we have to get that out of our system.
“But the best time to learn your lessons is when you are winning.”
And Ks were winning from the fourth minute when Ryan Moss got a touch to Tom Derry’s goalbound drive after Aaron Lamont’s right-foot shot struck the bar.
Leiston had plenty of first-half possession but never got a sniff of goal, with Ks keeper Rob Tolfrey untroubled, and the defence imperious with Sean Bonnett-Johnson a revelation at right-back.
And Ks doubled their advantage on 58 minutes, Derry rising above Leiston keeper Ashlee Jones to head home Joe Turner’s right-wing corner.
Three minutes later, Leiston’s prolific Matt Blake netted his and his side’s first chance, neatly converting Conor Hubble’s precise through-ball.
However, Lamont and Moss spurned fine chances before Ks restored their two-goal lead in the 72nd minute, Moss drilling home his spot-kick after Jones brought down a goalbound Derry.
The afternoon’s two best goals were saved until last.
Shaun McAuley made it 4-1 with a delightful curling effort from the edge of the box on 85 minutes.
And Niko Muir fired home an opportunist stoppage-time second goal for the Suffolk side.
Leiston boss Glenn Driver, who took over last summer, lamented his side’s defending.
He said: “We get it down and play and we score goals.
“But we concede too many silly goals. Sunday League stuff, with no disrespect to Sunday League.
“And we were bullied today. They were in our face and their centre-halves were magnificent.
Both sides are in extremely tight situations at their respective ends of the table but Ks go into tomorrow’s vital games with more confidence after yesterday’s display.