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

The Knappers put in a determined performance against the league leaders, but Nathan Hogan’s first-half double saw the visitors claim all three points.

Knaphill made the perfect start in the sixth minute, taking an early lead through Aidan King.

Matt Copland’s corner was initially cleared, but the ball came straight back to him. He whipped in a dangerous second delivery, and King rose highest, directing a downward header into the bottom left-hand corner to put Knaphill 1-0 up.

However, Redhill responded quickly.

In the 13th minute, a ball over the top from Timothy Obisanya caught the Knaphill defence off guard. Hogan beat the offside trap, raced clear and left the defenders trailing before drilling a powerful finish past Knappers keeper Sam Gray to make it 1-1.

Hogan nearly scored again a minute later. A loose ball fell to him at the edge of the box, and he unleashed a thunderbolt of a strike that had Gray beaten, only for it to crash off the top right-hand corner of the crossbar.

Redhill continued to press, and they scored their second goal in the 20th minute.

A long throw from the right by Callum McAllister was flicked on by former Knaphill player Joe Dyett, and Hogan sprinted through, lost his marker, and struck a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner to put Redhill 2-1 up.

Despite the setback, Knaphill had some joy down the left-hand side, with George Sellick seeing plenty of the ball and delivering several dangerous crosses into the Redhill box. However, they didn’t result in any clear-cut opportunities.

Redhill’s Eoin Fraser was booked for a late challenge just before the break as Knaphill continued to apply pressure.

Knaphill came out strongly after the break, seeing plenty of the ball in the opening ten minutes of the second half and continuing to find joy down the left through Sellick.

Clear-cut opportunities remained hard to come by, as Redhill’s defensive structure held firm.

Redhill began to take control, dictating possession and keeping Knaphill at arm’s length.

The game became a midfield battle, with few chances for either side.

Copland was cautioned in the 69th minute as frustrations started to build for the hosts.

In the 70th minute Redhill’s Sean Swift went down in the box under a challenge from Copland, but the referee deemed it a dive and booked Swift for simulation.

Four minutes later, in the 74th minute, Hogan nearly secured his hat-trick.

Swift found Hogan with a clever pass into the box, and Hogan took a quick shot under pressure. Dale Burnham reacted well, managing to get a crucial deflection, which sent the ball just past the post for a corner.

Redhill had another big opportunity a few minutes later. The ball fell to Adam Grant at the far post, and he stretched to make contact, but Gray reacted superbly, getting down low to make an important block and keep Knaphill in the game.

Knaphill introduced Ben Mitchell, Zak Jakubowski and Ferrel Danso in the 79th minute, replacing Jack Watts, Sellick and Jack Baisden as they searched for attacking momentum in the closing stages, but Redhill held on to secure the victory.

By James Carpenter