Knaphill lost 2-1 at home to Shoreham in the first qualifying round of the FA Vase.

The first opportunity of the afternoon fell Knaphill’s way in the 12th minute, when Michak Stanic-Stewart surged out of defence and carried the ball deep into Shoreham territory. Spotting space, he tried his luck from distance, his long-range strike narrowly clearing the crossbar.

But it was Shoreham who struck first on 21 minutes. A cross from the right wasn’t dealt with as it bounced dangerously across the Knaphill area. Ross Cheek was unable to clear, allowing Alfie Marchant to nip in, round Harvey Keogh, and slide the ball into the net for the visitors.

Knaphill came out strongly after the interval and were rewarded in the 57th minute with an equaliser. Lynford Sackey and Jack Carrod combined just outside the box, exchanging passes despite a bobbly surface. The ball came back to Sackey, who weaved his way past three Shoreham defenders before curling a precise finish into the net.

The Knappers continued to threaten. In the 78th minute, Max Lohmeier met a loose ball on the edge of the box with a controlled volley that bounced awkwardly before skimming just past the right-hand post. Moments later, Carrod picked out Ray Moore with an incisive ball over the top. Moore timed his run and tried to lift the ball over the onrushing Elliott Dailly, but his lob drifted wide.

In the 88th minute a corner found Shoreham’s Oscar Pinnock, whose header looked destined for the bottom left-hand corner until Stanic-Stewart cleared brilliantly off the line.

In stoppage time a long goal kick from Dailly was brought down by substitute Josh Gould, who carried the ball into the box before driving a low strike into the bottom right-hand corner to send Shoreham through to the next round.

By James Carpenter