Knowle record famous victory over professional side Solihull Moors in showpiece friendly
George Revell reports live from The Robins' Nest as Knowle's pre-season preparations continued with a showpiece friendly against Solihull Moors...
Knowle gained invaluable experience against professional opposition as they recorded a famous 1-0 victory over National League side Solihull Moors on Tuesday night.
A solitary first-half strike from Hayden Purves, alongside an incredibly well-spirited team performance, ensured Knowle did themselves proud on a night where a bumper crowd watched on full of excitement ahead of the club’s first-ever campaign at Step Five level in 2026/27.
Full-time outfit Moors compete four steps above Knowle in the non-league pyramid - and came within a penalty shootout of the EFL when they took Bromley all the way to spot-kicks in the National League play-off final at the iconic Wembley Stadium two years ago - but the Robins more than held their own and were serenaded by supporters after the game.
Knowle prevented Moors from playing their game in the early exchanges but Robins stopper Matt Horton was made to work 13 minutes in. Horton reacted swiftly when a powerful strike was unleashed from distance.
The Robins had a chance of their own soon after when Brady Floyd was brought down in the final third. Top scorer Talib Copeland almost found the bottom-left corner from the resulting free-kick, though his curling effort took a slight deflection.
Knowle will have been very encouraged by how they contained Moors throughout the first half before carving them open to break the deadlock through right-winger Purves seven minutes before the break.
A beautiful free-flowing move involving several Knowle attackers resulted in Purves emphatically finding the net from the edge of the penalty area to spark joyous scenes on the touchline. The Robins were applauded off at half-time and deservedly so.
Moors stepped out for the second half with an entirely fresh XI but Knowle almost doubled their lead nine minutes after the restart. Flynn Powell headed narrowly over the crossbar and visiting goalkeeper Nat Ford knew very little about it.
Chris Millington’s side upped the ante and a sustained period of pressure from Moors led to an effort bending just around the right-hand post.
More chances came for Moors and Horton produced a magnificent save following a left-wing corner with 15 minutes to play.
Knowle dug extremely deep in the closing stages, showing immense levels of grit and determination, as Moors pushed to try and avoid defeat in their pre-season opener.
Sheer elation filled The Robins' Nest at full-time because, while it was a pre-season friendly, Knowle had just secured a famous victory in their first-ever match against professional opposition to make a statement of real intent to the United Counties Premier South.
Even before considering the result, it felt rather fitting that Moors - who so generously shared their Damson Park home with us for three matches when the clubhouse was destroyed following Storm Doris in 2017 - were our first visitors after a season which saw us rewrite all the history books by winning the treble, securing back-to-back promotions and going on a record-obliterating streak of 21 successive league victories.
Moors boss Millington will have seen this as a good workout for his entire squad, who face ambition-laden Birmingham City for the fourth annual staging of the Arthur Cup next Wednesday, as they vie to make their 11th consecutive National League campaign their last.
Next up for Knowle, preparations continue with friendly trips to Coventry Alvis (Saturday, July 11, 3:00pm) and AFC Solihull at the same time a week later.
Our pre-season concludes with a home clash against fellow Step Five side Droitwich Spa on Tuesday, July 21 (7:45pm), before FC Stratford visit The Robins’ Nest the following Sunday (11:30am) for our opening United Counties Premier South fixture.
