WHILE the final scoreline may show a heavy 4-1 defeat, Knutsford FC left their trip to Daten on Saturday knowing things could have been so much different.

Their defeat in Warrington ended a recent four-match unbeaten run in all competitions as they were made to pay for a nightmare start, falling two goals behind inside eight minutes.

Charlie Middlemore opened the scoring inside 45 seconds for the hosts, whose lead was doubled when Jack Hodgkiss converted the rebound after his penalty was saved by Reds keeper Dominic Smith.

From that point onwards, Knutsford were the dominant force but found Daten keeper Jack Trubshaw in incredible form.

He stopped them from halving the deficit from the penalty spot by saving Greg Mathers’ effort after Matt Mountney had been brought down inside the area, and this was the first of two spot-kicks Knutsford would miss with Max Kennedy blazing over from 12 yards after half time after Daten had been penalised for handball.

Trubshaw was finally beaten when Joel Wilbraham headed home Jonny Cavanagh’s corner and Knutsford continued to pile on the pressure in search of an equaliser.

However, they were stunned by a superb long-range effort at the other end from Cameron Jupp, who lashed home from distance after his free kick rebounded back to him off the wall.

The hosts rubbed salt into the wounds late on as Zach Hitchen headed home to complete a damaging afternoon for Reds, whose next fixture is not until November 11 when they face Middlewich Town Reserves in the Mid-Cheshire District Cup.

Knutsford: Smith, Wilbraham, Wooley (Gianni), Sheldon, Cavanagh, Kennedy, Davies (Gunter), Rodick, Mathers (Chatha), Mountney, Blades