A solitary goal of real quality was the sole difference between the sides as Alton lost 1-0 at home to high-flying Knaphill in the Combined Counties Premier Division South on Saturday.

Knaphill are second for a reason - organised right around the park, solid at the back and with a real threat up front. That said, the home side will regret three good opportunities they created in the first quarter of an hour, but the Knaphill keeper did well on all three occasions.

Jose Sani, who gave Knaphill the lead in the 34th minute, later went off with a muscle strain. With the lead at the break, the visitors took every opportunity they could throughout the second half to stop the game and slow it down, much to the frustration of the home fans in the crowd of 174.

Bird in the Alton goal was mostly a spectator as the home side dominated territorially as they strived to create a really good opportunity, but the busier visiting keeper dealt well with everything thrown at him.

As the hosts pushed on with time running out, Knaphill broke away and Calvin Camara hit the post. With the lengthy added time period ticking away, a goalmouth scramble in the Knaphill box saw Alton’s Oli Kavanagh stab the ball towards goal, but it hit the post and slipped away for a goal kick as Alton fell to their first league defeat for more than three months.

Alton host Tadley Calleva on Saturday at 3pm.