100 Up...Second Half Rout Sees Off Stapenhill

George Revell reports as Knowle secure their second biggest win of the season to start their title celebrations early…

Knowle scored a magnificent seven second-half goals to move within a single point of the league title as they routed Stapenhill 7-0 at the Draintech Community Stadium.

Brady Floyd’s first hat-trick for the club, a double from top scorer Talib Copeland, plus further goals from Zak Parsons and MD Shimul helped Knowle reach the 100-point mark and put one hand on the trophy after a first half where neither side took advantage of the chances that they had.

The title can’t yet be mathematically awarded, but the Robins sit three points above second-placed Gornal Athletic with a game in hand and a far superior goal difference. To illustrate just how close they are, Knowle would have to lose both of their remaining matches, Gornal would have to win theirs, and the 14-goal swing would also need to be overturned for the title to slip away.

Knowle started the brighter and had a golden chance to take the lead nine minutes in when Floyd made an intelligent dash towards goal.

He exposed visiting defender Cade Chadwick’s lack of pace and raced onto a hopeful ball forward before squaring to Copeland. The imposing forward could only toe-poke wide of the left-hand post from six yards and was visibly frustrated with himself afterwards.

Knowle worked Swans stopper Paul Hollis for the first time when Connor Mort whipped in a right-wing cross from deep six minutes later. Floyd met Mort’s fierce delivery and Hollis did well to tip the striker’s goal-bound header out of harm’s way.

Much of the following period was played in Knowle’s final third, and they came close to the breakthrough after another one of Mort’s threatening crosses led to Hayden Purves firing just too high on the half-hour mark. Right-winger Purves brought the ball down well and set himself before narrowly clearing the crossbar with a powerful effort from eight yards out.

Swans defender Niall Dawkins very nearly caught everyone in attendance - not least Knowle goalkeeper Shaune Allen - by surprise six minutes before half-time.

Dawkins - 35 yards from goal - noticed Allen marginally off his line after latching onto Harrison Bruce’s flick-on following a goal-kick, and decided to pull the trigger. Had Dawkins been five yards further back, his audacious lob might have just snuck in. Allen was well beaten and could do nothing but watch.

Aside from those few nail-biting milliseconds, the Swans didn’t really trouble Knowle. They were, however - by the skin of their teeth - just about on course for a gritty draw that they would have been more than happy with.

But that was all about to change.

After the relentless hail had stormed the pitch during the half-time break, Knowle played with intent from the get-go and broke the deadlock via a back-post header within five minutes of the restart.

Purves’ wicked left-wing corner was met by Floyd, who rose highest to guide past the helpless Hollis and into the top-right corner from close range.

Six minutes later, it was two. Mort’s sublime 50-yard through ball over the top caught the Swans’ back-line cold and, to rub salt into their wounds, Copeland effortlessly plucked the ball from the sky and calmly slotted through the legs of Hollis.

Knowle were in their groove by this point and had a third through an absolute peach from Floyd after some tidy link-up play on the hour.

He skipped past Swans left-back Ollie Potts and played a neat one-two with George Seeley on the right edge of the penalty area before unleashing an absolute belter into the top-left corner for his second of the afternoon.

That left the Swans stunned, but those of a Knowle persuasion were even more stunned when Harry Griffiths wasn’t shown a red card for a cynical foul on Parsons. The young midfielder went in late on Parsons, who was driving towards the penalty area.

Parsons’ smile soon returned when he perfectly curled the resulting free-kick around the wall and into the top-left corner. Knowle were delighted and Griffiths had egg on his face.

Knowle had their fifth and Floyd his third 90 seconds later. Copeland’s teasing through ball evaded two onrushing defenders and Floyd squirmed his way to the edge of the six-yard box to poke past Hollis for his hat-trick.

Five-nil up and cruising, Knowle were having fun in the sun - after a remarkable change in weather - and joint-managers Matt and Clive Seeley could make changes after a demanding four-match Easter week. Mort, Purves and hat-trick hero Floyd all made way for Owain Taylor, Shimul and Josh Parsons.

The scoreline didn’t stop Knowle from playing their relentless style of football and they found the net again with 15 minutes to play after some neat footwork from Copeland on the left-wing.

He collected Zak Parsons’ lofted ball and danced past Swans substitute Liam O’Brien before staying composed to beat Hollis one-on-one and guide his finish into the bottom-right corner.

Zak Parsons got into the thick of the action himself when he raced beyond the Swans’ back-line. With Shimul free to his left, he opted to shoot himself but saw his effort well saved by Hollis.

Knowle put further gloss on a near-perfect second half by scoring a seventh in the 81st minute, Shimul prodding home left-footed from five yards after expertly reading a bouncing ball.

There were whispers of Knowle matching - or even beating - their record 9-0 win against Allexton and New Parks back in December, but they eventually settled for their second biggest win of the season and were cheered off the pitch by a bumper crowd after a team huddle.

Knowle can officially win the league on Tuesday night by avoiding defeat at 11th-placed Ingles.

All that remains now is to truly get the promotion bus rolling.