MATTHEW Seeley believes Knowle are back in the mix at the top of table after the Robins beat nine-man Hampton 2-1 in a Solihull derby.
George Seeley’s first-half brace put Knowle in command before Cameron Seivwright responded for Hampton at the start of the second period at the Draintech Community Ground.
And Hampton had two players sent off in the closing stages with Knowle’s joint-boss Seeley delighted by his side’s quality against physical opposition.
Seeley said: “It was a really good first half, it took us a while to play our football, they make it a real battle every time we play them.
“We altered the formation slightly and made a couple of changes, we knew it was going to be a bit physical, we tried to match that.
“Our quality shone through, we were deservedly two-nil up at the break, it probably should have been three or four.
“The next goal was crucial, unfortunately they got it which made it more of a spectacle than it should have been.
“It’s another three points, it has put us back in the mix.”
Knowle squandered several first-half chances before Seeley scored twice in the space of five minutes after producing a fine finish from Dylon Bennett’s pass before heading in Tom Craine’s cross.
Hampton halved the deficit in the second half when Sievwright tapped home at the back post but rarely threatened the Knowle goal thereafter.
And the visitors lost Alex Considine to a red card late in the second period before Jack Slevin also saw red after frustrations boiled over between the two sets of players with the ugly scenes continuing after the final whistle
The result means Knowle sit fourth in the Midland Football League Division Two table.
Off the pitch, The Robins donated £224 towards Hampton’s fund to rebuild their clubhouse after a fire broke out and caused severe damage to the building last month.
Knowle are next in action away at Inkberrow on Saturday, September 9 with kick-off at 3pm at Sands Road.
