Knaphill crashed to a 3-0 defeat at Alton in the Combined Counties Premier Division South on Saturday.

Goals from Adam Poynter, Aley McAllister and Scott Sanderson saw the home side take complete control.

Knaphill made the worst possible start, conceding inside the first minute.

Ex-Knaphill players Owen Tanner and Poynter combined, with Tanner breaking clear down the right, driving towards the edge of the box and delivering a pinpoint cross to the far post. Poynter timed his run perfectly, meeting the ball on the half-volley with a controlled side-footed finish, using the weight of the pass to guide it into the net past Knappers keeper Sam Gray.

Alton continued to dictate the tempo, winning battles across the pitch, while Knaphill looked disjointed and unable to connect passes.

In the 17th minute, Alton doubled their lead after another well-worked move.

Poynter found space down the left and picked out McAllister, who had created space for himself on the edge of the box. McAllister turned sharply, took the shot, and drilled it low into the bottom right-hand corner past Gray to make it 2-0.

Knaphill looked bereft of ideas, lacking attacking patterns or sustained possession.

The hosts nearly made it three in the 34th minute when Matt Benham broke forward from the back and unleashed a shot from range.

Gray got down low to save, but Poynter reacted quickest to the rebound and his effort found the side netting.

With no urgency or clear attacking strategy, Knaphill trudged into half-time trailing 2-0.

Knaphill had Gray to thank again in the 48th minute for keeping them in the game.

A cross from the left by Poynter found McAllister just six yards out, and with Knaphill’s defence slow to react, he looked sure to score.

Gray instantly got down well to make a reflex save, pushing the ball away before Dale Burnham managed to head it out for a corner.

Despite struggling to create much, Knaphill had their first opening in the 65th minute.

Yahaya Kamara played a long ball over the top, with Jack Carrod running onto it under pressure from two Alton defenders. He managed to get a shot away, though it lacked power, and Alton keeper Adam Melville palmed it away low to his right. As the ball bobbled loose, Ross Murdoch ran onto it under pressure from Tolu Ajayi-Obe, but the Alton defender got there first to clear the danger.

Any hopes of a late fightback were quashed in the 77th minute when Alton scored their third goal.

This time, the attack came from the right, as Sanderson found space at the edge of the box, turned, and fired low into the bottom left-hand corner past Gray to seal the game at 3-0.

Alton could have made it 4-0 in the 90th minute when Sanderson broke clear and released Poynter, who squared the ball to Evan Anderson.

The substitute got a shot away from the right, but Gray was there again, palming the effort away for a corner, ensuring the scoreline didn’t get any worse for Knaphill.

With the game effectively over, Alton comfortably saw out the closing stages, limiting Knaphill to half-chances and long balls that never troubled their backline.

Knaphill will host Spelthorne Sports in the Combined Counties Premier Division South on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

By James Carpenter