Knaphill slipped to a narrow 2-1 defeat at home to Thatcham Town in the Combined Counties Premier Division South on Saturday.

A dominant second-half performance in awful conditions was not enough to earn any points for the Knappers as they failed to take their chances.

Knaphill entered the afternoon second in the table and facing a Thatcham Town side sitting second bottom, but heavy rain throughout the match turned the game into a scrappy, unpredictable contest.

A slow first half proved costly for the Knappers, and despite a dominant response after the break, Knaphill left Redding Way frustrated.

Thatcham took the lead on 28 minutes. Archie Goode carried the ball into the box with Igor Souza tracking him and trying to hold him up. As Goode shielded the ball, the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Goode struck his spot kick straight down the middle and saw his effort saved by Knappers keeper Harvey Keogh. Keogh also saved the rebound, but Knaphill were slow to react and Ben Anderson followed in to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

Moments later, Thatcham doubled their advantage. Kenneth Antony threaded a through ball down the right for Anderson and Keogh came out to narrow the angle, but Anderson squared the ball across goal for Goode to tap in at the back post.

Knaphill created opportunities before the break. A loose ball dropped to Jack Phillips on the edge of the box and he fired over, and later Phillips clipped a ball over the top for Ross Murdoch, who got into the area but put his effort wide.

The second half saw Knaphill take full control despite the worsening rain. The home side pressed higher, moved the ball with more purpose, and a quadruple change in the 56th minute – with Jack Carrod, Ben Mitchell, Lynford Sackey and Michak Stanic Stewart coming on – brought fresh energy and momentum.

Knaphill’s goal arrived shortly afterwards. Sackey broke down the left and drove into the box before pulling the ball across to Mitchell. He squared it to Murdoch, whose first strike was blocked, but he reacted fastest and buried the second to give Knaphill a lifeline.

The Knappers went on to dominate and created a series of clear-cut chances. Mitchell had a low effort blocked by Thatcham keeper Hugh Scott’s legs before Carrod bent a superb strike that beat the keeper but crashed off the bar. Knaphill captain Dale Burnham then met a cross from six yards but saw his header bounce agonisingly wide. Moments later Murdoch powered a header on target, only for Scott to block again.

Thatcham broke forward only once after the interval, forcing Keogh to race out and push the ball away from danger, doing enough for it to roll wide of the far post.

Knaphill continued to throw everything forward but could not find a second goal, with an organised Thatcham side sitting deep and showing plenty of commitment in the closing stages.

In the end the match was defined by Knaphill not taking their chances. The Knappers created plenty of opportunities in the second half, but the damage from the first half combined with a lack of composure in key moments after the interval proved to be decisive.

Thatcham made the most of their key moments in the awful conditions to claim all three points.

By James Carpenter