AFTER their Cheshire FA Amateur Cup final win, it was back to the bread and butter for Knutsford FC on Tuesday.

And they were able to grind out a hard-earned Cheshire League One victory despite playing the entre second half with 10 men.

They had come from behind to lead Sandbach United Reserve 2-1 when Max Kennedy was dismissed on the stroke of half time, but Reds were able to repel everything their visitors threw at them after the break.

Midway through the first half, Knutsford fell behind when Sandbach striker George Kattah, who had been a threat in the early stages, managed to break free from Graeme Brotherton and Steve Jenyons’ attentions to fire beyond keeper Dominic Smith.

Before then, Knutsford had been pressing and in control and that continued after falling behind, eventually leading to the equaliser on 38 minutes.

Jonny Cavanagh and Charlie Rodick linked up to find Matt Mountney, the scorer of the cup-winning goal against Poynton, who drilled home the equaliser.

Five minutes later, the turnaround was complete when Brandon Blades’ effort was saved and Cavanagh hit the post with the rebound, but Greg Mathers was well-placed to convert the loose ball.

However, a potentially pivotal moment came just two minutes later when the referee adjudged Kennedy’s attempted stretch for the ball to be dangerous, showing him the red card.

Nevertheless, Reds defended well and even had chances at the other end, with Mountney fluffing a shot that would have brought him a second goal.

The teams were then evened up on the hour mark when Kattah was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

The game got tenser as time went on and in injury time, Sandbach had a glorious chance to equalise but Smith produced an excellent save to secure the points for his side.

The victory leaves Knutsford sixth in Cheshire League One with eight league games still remaining, starting with a trip to St Michael’s on Saturday.

Knutsford: Smith, Fregapane, Wooley, Jenyons, Brotherton, Cavanagh, Kennedy, Mountney (Davis), Rodick (Ardern), Mathers (Wilbraham), Blades (Woodward)