Knaphill secured a thrilling 3-2 victory against Chipstead in their first Combined Counties Premier Division South home game of the season on Saturday.

Overcoming a two-goal deficit in front of a crowd of 83, the win propelled Knaphill to second in the table, maintaining their perfect start to the campaign with two wins from two.

Chipstead struck early, with Zack Jakubowski opening the scoring in the 13th minute, coolly slotting home after losing his marker.

Richese Mviokii doubled the visitors' lead in the 25th minute with a stunning 25-yard strike that flew into the top right-hand corner, leaving Knaphill goalkeeper Sam Gray with no chance.

Despite the setback, Knaphill showed resilience. After the break, joint-managers Mike Woolgar and Paul Johnson introduced Dale Burnham and Ben Mitchell, and the changes paid off.

Mitchell, capitalising on a through ball from Ross Cheek, fired a low shot across the Chipstead keeper into the bottom left-hand corner, halving the deficit in the 61st minute.

Knaphill pushed for an equaliser, and their persistence was rewarded in the 90th minute when Cheek, after being fouled outside the box, connected with a whipped-in free kick from Matt Copland to level the score at 2-2.

The drama didn’t end there, as Chipstead’s defence finally crumbled under pressure in injury time. Burnham, positioned perfectly inside the area, volleyed home the winner after a headed clearance, sending the home crowd into raptures.

Saturday’s win followed an impressive 2-1 victory at Cobham in Knaphill’s opening Combined Counties Premier Division South match last Tuesday night (August 6).

Matt Copland gave the visitors the lead in the 29th minute, and Copland scored his second of the night on 50 minutes to double Knaphill’s advantage.

Elijah Simpson pulled a goal back for Cobham in the 63rd minute, but the Knappers held on to start their league campaign with three points.

By James Carpenter