Knaphill slipped to a narrow 2-1 defeat at Fleet Town in the Combined Counties Premier Division South.

Dean Rule’s double gave the home side the three points in a hard-fought encounter, with Aidan King netting the equaliser for Knaphill in a match that saw multiple bookings, a sin-bin and a late red card.

Fleet took an early lead in the 13th minute.

A cross from the left found Danilo Cadete, who held up the ball before laying it off to Rule. Rule struck the ball confidently into the bottom left-hand corner to put Fleet 1-0 up.

The game grew increasingly physical, with Fleet’s Josh Stepney and Luke Phair receiving yellow cards.

Knaphill equalised in the 31st minute through King.

A long kick from Knappers goalkeeper Sam Gray was well controlled by Ben Mitchell, who played a perfectly-timed through ball to King. King struck it first time, and his low, precise finish found the bottom left-hand corner to make it 1-1.

Fleet’s Liam Pestle was sin-binned in the 33rd minute for dissent, giving Knaphill an opportunity to press.

The visitors nearly took the lead when Mitchell forced a save from Fleet goalkeeper Finley Purcell from a one-on-one chance.

James Glover headed just wide from a corner, and Kingsley Anokye tested Purcell with a powerful strike as Knaphill kept Fleet on the back foot going into half-time.

Knaphill made their first substitution in the 62nd minute, bringing on Jack Baisden for King, who had to go off injured after a strong showing against his former club.

Two minutes later, Kacper Nozka replaced Alex McLean as Knaphill aimed to increase their offensive pressure.

Despite Knaphill’s efforts, Fleet regained the lead in the 68th minute.

A cross from the right found Pestle at the far post, who rose above the Knaphill defence to head the ball back to an unmarked Rule at the edge of the box. Rule drilled a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner to complete his double and put Fleet back in front.

Knaphill’s Dale Burnham was shown a yellow card in the 71st minute.

In the 80th minute, a tussle at a corner led to Fleet’s Ross Stepney receiving a red card for pushing Burnham.

Fleet dropped into two banks of four to defend their lead, doing just enough to hold off Knaphill’s pressure and secure the victory.

Knaphill showed resilience and battled throughout the match, but were unable to find an equaliser as they slipped to a narrow defeat on the road.

Fleet Town: Finley Purcell, Nick Medcraft, Tom Smith (Fareed Hakeem-Habeeb 67), Josh Stepney, Liam Pestle (c), Ross Stepney, Danilo Cadete (Campbell Scott 81), Dean Rule (Tane Caubo 93), Lekan Osideko, Luke Phair (Mathew Surmon 83), Luke Kandi.

Unused substitute: Daniel Bone.

Knaphill: Sam Gray, David Orisatoki, James Glover, George Frith (Blessing Hombessa 80), Michak Stanic-Stewart, Dale Burnham, Alex McLean (Kacper Nozka 64), Jack Watts (c), Aidan King (Jack Baisden 62), Ben Mitchell, Kingsley Anokye.

Unused substitutes: Jamari Jackson, Rahman Ajibola.

By James Carpenter