Knaphill made it three successive wins with a 1-0 victory at home to Balham in the Combined Counties Premier Division South.

Max Lohmeier’s second-half strike proved decisive as the Knappers edged out Balham in a tight encounter at Redding Way.

Balham almost stunned the home side inside two minutes. Tom Wensley was dispossessed, bringing the ball out from the back, allowing Rob White a clear run at goal. One-on-one with Harvey Keogh, the striker looked certain to score, but Keogh got down sharply to his left and pushed the effort around the post.

Knaphill grew into the half and went close to breaking the deadlock on 43 minutes. Louis Collins picked up the ball on the edge of the box and unleashed a low left-footed strike that beat Balham keeper Will Huffer but clipped the outside of the post and went wide.

Knaphill carved out another chance on the hour mark. Lynford Sackey threaded a clever ball down the right channel for Jack Carrod, who drove to the byline and cut back low across the box. The pass found Thomas Harland-Goddard, whose strike was goal-bound until Huffer reacted brilliantly to tip it over the bar.

The breakthrough arrived in the 74th minute. Lohmeier dispossessed Dan David just inside Balham’s half and released Harland-Goddard down the left. Harland-Goddard drove forward, cut inside, and slipped a clever return ball into Lohmeier, who had continued his run from deep. Arriving at the edge of the area, Lohmeier curled a composed finish around the keeper into the bottom right-hand corner to make it 1-0.

Balham almost equalised in stoppage time. Rylan Withers drove into the box and cut the ball back across goal with the net gaping, but Jack Baisden produced a superb last-ditch tackle to block and then clear the danger, sealing all three points.

By James Carpenter