ELLIOT Edwards scored twice from the penalty spot in vain as Earlswood Town suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat against local rivals Knowle.
Edwards started and completed the scoring at The Pavilions as Callum Burston-Keeley netted a hat-trick for the visitors to inspire the league leaders to victory.
The result means Earlswood sit 13th in the Midland Football League Division Two table.
The Earls made the perfect start when a coming together in the box saw the referee point to the spot and Edwards stepped up to score the resulting penalty with just seven minutes on the clock.
Knowle won a penalty of their own on 22 minutes as Burston-Keeley fired home to draw the visitors level.
And Burston-Keeley completed the turnaround shortly before half time with a finish into the bottom left corner.
The Robins searched for a killer third goal as Earls goalkeeper Alfie Pyott acrobatically denied both Odane Barnes and Burston-Keeley.
However, Burston-Keeley eventually poked a shot into the bottom corner to complete his hat-trick and put the visitors in command.
The Earls won a second penalty at the death as Edwards again converted from the spot but it proved too little too late as the Robins held on to secure another victory in their pursuit of the league title.
Earlswood are next in action against Lane Head on Saturday, March 1 with kick-off at 3pm at Somerfield Road.
