KNOWLE FC were edged out 3-2 by Dudley Town in an entertaining pre-season friendly at the Draintech Stadium.
Both teams named a number of trialists and there was little to choose between the two sides in the opening exchanges.
The Robins kept Dudley at bay until a looping header found the back of the net on 27 minutes to hand the visitors the lead.
And Dudley looked set for a comfortable win when they doubled their lead on 49 minutes after a defensive mix-up left Knowle exposed.
That goal seemed to wake Clive Seeley’s side up and a superbly struck free-kick found the back of the Dudley net from 18-yards out to halve the deficit.
And the Robins scored an unlikely equaliser when some nice link up play ended with a sublime chip over the Dudley goalkeeper and into the net.
Both teams searched for a winner and it was Dudley who found it when a long ball over the top fell at the feet of a visiting striker, via the aid of a slight deflection, who scored with ease with just two minutes left to play.