Westfield 2 Knaphill 0
JOHN COMER threw down the gauntlet to his Westfield side by telling them to win all their remaining fixtures.
The Yellows dug in to see off a spirited Knaphill on Tuesday night as Rob Jones (below) netted after Matt Steer’s thrice taken spot-kick.
And for boss Comer, the hard-earned three points are just one part of the wider title race picture.
He said: "To win tonight is a very good response after going down 3-0 to AFC Croydon Athletic at the weekend.
"I thought Knaphill played really well actually. They are a decent side – we are 12 points from 12 in our local games now.
"Local derbies can be a leveller and they are tough matches to be involved in.
"I have told the lads if we win every game between now and the end of the season, we will win the league – simple as that, no one can stop you."
Steer broke the deadlock for the hosts after 32 minutes when Knaphill’s Matt Edwards was adjudged to have handled in the box.
The referee ordered Steer, who scored at the second attempt but missed his first, to retake
the penalty three times for encroachment in the area.
Going behind sparked the Knappers into life as Ross Murray sent his looping free-kick inches over the bar moments before the break.
Both sides committed men forward in an end-to-end second half and Luke Taylor will feel he could have equalised on 67 minutes, firing over from close range.
Substitute Jones sealed all three points for Westfield with nine minutes remaining after Sam Black weighted a perfect pass for Jones to slot past Nick McGregor.
The win saw the hosts move up to second but Knaphill’s joint-manager Kevin Bailey was disappointed to be leaving Woking Road empty handed.
"I am absolutely gutted because in the second half I thought we battered them," he said.
"The first goal, their penalty, it was their player who hand-balled it, not ours and that rattled us.
"We got upset and shouldn’t have lost our heads but sometimes that just can’t be helped in football.
"But we can take a lot of positives from tonight. We played with purpose and had we got the equaliser, I thought we could have gone on and got something out of it."
The win came hours after Westfield were reinstated in the Surrey County Cup final as Staines Lammas were found to have fielded an ineligible player in their 4-2 victory last month.
Westfield will now face Walton Casuals Reserves at Carshalton Athletic’s ground on March 19.