Eight-man Knowle battle hard to heroic win in seven-goal thriller at Atherstone Town

Knowle produced one of the most heroic performances of their 100-year history as they overcame two red cards and a late sin-bin to secure an unbelievable 4-3 victory away at high-flying Atherstone Town on Tuesday night.

The Robins were reduced to nine players shortly after half-time when Callum Scott got caught in the heat of a melee and Jack Duggan was dismissed in the aftermath.

Joint-manager Matt Seeley was banished from the dugout as tempers flared just after the hour, but the nine Robins that remained - reduced to eight when Sonny Sheasby was sin-binned for the final 10 minutes - displayed a level of desire and resilience that simply cannot be rivalled.

Knowle dug extremely deep in a frantic conclusion to ensure a victory for the ages and preserve their perfect record of seven wins from seven league matches.

The Robins made seven changes to Saturday’s XI in a bid to serve up an immediate response and a display of intent.

One of those changes, in-form attacker Talib Copeland, almost grabbed the opening goal inside three minutes. Summer signing Wayne Mubayi jinked past Josh Steele on the right-hand side and curled a cross towards Brady Floyd. His header was kept out but the ball fell invitingly for Copeland, whose goal-bound header from close range was brilliantly blocked on the goal-line.

Just minutes later, 10-year servant George Seeley - who recently passed the captain’s armband onto Duggan after nearly four years in the role - struck one low and hard towards the bottom-right corner, but home goalkeeper Lewis Gwilliams got in the way to deny the midfielder his first goal of the season.

The Robins were well on top and Seeley had his goal 11 minutes in. Overlapping full-back Mort whipped in a delicious cross from the right and Seeley rose above all the rest to guide a header beyond Gwilliams.

Knowle doubled their lead from the penalty spot eight minutes later and some clever skill from Copeland drew the foul. He slalomed through three Atherstone players before being brought down in the box by a fourth, leaving the referee with no choice but to award a spot-kick.

Mort stepped up from 12 yards and rifled past Gwilliams to double Knowle’s lead, providing a scoreline that was no less than their dominance deserved.

The Adders eventually grasped a foothold in the game and had a gilt-edged chance to halve their deficit in the 37th minute. A lofted ball from Jack Wells escaped the head of Duggan and instead found the intelligent run of Jack Edwards. The striker was one-on-one with Robins stopper Matt Horton but shot straight at the goalkeeper from point-blank range.

On the whole, Knowle were far the better team in the first half and delighted their away faithful by serving up an immediate reaction to Saturday’s lacklustre performance.

Tempers had flared on more than one occasion in the first half and Knowle lost two players just four minutes after the restart. A rush of blood saw Scott dismissed after an altercation with Sam Fitzgerald, while Duggan was shown a second yellow card in the frantic aftermath.

The tide turned immediately and Lewis Collins scored for Atherstone within three minutes. He met a slide-rule pass in behind the Knowle defence and rounded Horton to halve the hosts’ deficit.

But nine-man Knowle stayed in the game and miraculously found a third through Copeland. After picking up the ball on the left channel, Copeland flew across the box and slotted into the bottom-left corner. The ball took a nick off the post on the way in, but Knowle didn't care - the Adders were left stunned.

Matt Seeley was then sent off - allegedly for an exchange of words with Fitzgerald - but the drama didn't end there. Atherstone substitute Roan Newey netted the game’s fifth goal midway through the second half.

The Atherstone winger had only been on the pitch for 90 seconds when he skipped past Mort down the hosts’ left and powered a shot across Horton as the chaos continued.

Ryan Quinn nearly drew Atherstone level with 15 minutes to play. His strike from distance deflected off Collins - Quinn’s own teammate - and bounced marginally wide of the target.

Atherstone were on the ascendant and Newey did level the game three minutes later. Steele played Chris Cowley down the left and his threatening ball in was met by Newey, whose header found the top-right corner via Horton’s left hand.

But Copeland raced away again and produced another magnificent piece of solo magic to score Knowle’s winning goal. He collected the ball on the halfway line, charged forward, and unleashed an unbelievable strike into the top-right corner from 25 yards out.

Nine battling Robins became eight when Sheasby was sent to the sin-bin - and Newey almost completed his hat-trick in the final minute of normal time with a beautiful long-range shot that drifted agonizingly wide.

However, the eight men of Knowle fought like their lives depended on it as the clock ticked down, securing a precious three points and preserving their perfect start to life in Step Five. It was a night that the travelling supporters simply won’t forget as Knowle made a massive statement of intent to the rest of the league.

After watching the tense finale from behind the dugout, an overjoyed Matt Seeley reflected on the historic performance.

“When you come away from home to Atherstone and go down to nine men, you think the worst is going to happen,” he said.

“They got one back but then the big man (Talib Copeland) - probably the best man in the country at the minute I think - he’s run the length of the pitch and put one in the top bin.

“Then they brought it back again (to 3-3) but he’s done it again. I just couldn't believe what I was watching to be honest.

“It was absolutely outstanding the way that they all dug in. We had eight men on the pitch at the end. Eight men against second in the league - it just shows the bond in the changing room, the commitment. All the lads who weren’t in the squad are here supporting the boys.

“What we’ve done tonight is just absolutely magnificent - a remarkable achievement. To come from Step Seven two years ago to Atherstone in Step Five with eight men, it’s just incredible.”

Matching the high of a victory in such circumstances won’t come easy - but Knowle could extend their winning run to eight league games this Saturday, September 19.

Eynesbury Rovers visit The Robins’ Nest for a 3pm kick-off, where a home win would put Knowle on 24 points from eight games - a flawless tally boasted by no other team in the division.