Tadley Fall Short At Farnham

It's the age old saying, goals win games, and it hadn’t been more prevalent this season than Tadleys defeat away at league favourites Farnham Town.

Clinical finishing from the Farnham Town front line was the difference in a 4-0 defeat for Tadley-Calleva.

The North Hampshire side came into the fixture off the back of three wins, but knew this was a much sterner test against a Farnham Town side filled with talent that arguably should be playing further up the Non-League pyramid.

Tadley came rushing out of the blocks, with a well thought out game plan, setting up narrow in an attempt to thwart their hosts playing through the middle, a tactic Farnham play well.

It was Tadley who had the first real chance of the game when, just after four minutes in, a corner was sent to the back post and collected by Kieron Rodgers. Rodgers sent the ball back into the box, finding Charsley who took a great touch, swivelled and put his effort narrowly wide of the post.

The hosts didn’t really show much threat in the opening stages with Tadley, arguably, having the better possession and chances with another opportunity to open the scoring just after twenty minutes saved comfortably by Pat Nash in the Farnham goal.

However, a terrible miss denied the hosts the lead just before the half hour mark. A passage of great football from Farnham down the left handside allowed for a ball to be put across the face of the box where the oncoming Kinsella managed to put the ball high over the bar from a matter of yards.

A let off for Tadley, which seemed to boost their confidence once more as just moments later Jack French had the chance to put the visitors ahead. Sheldon Wright picked up the ball on the right wing, he beat two oncoming defenders and drove into the box, he pulled the ball back to Jack French who found himself free in the middle but saw his effort go agonisingly over the bar and out for a goal kick. Tadley’s best chance of the half.

Both teams had one more chance each to break the deadlock but a Dean Rule effort for the hosts sailed over the bar while a chance for Fragata of Tadley just a minute later was superbly blocked by Kinsella, denying a certain goal.

An entertaining first half of football, despite the nil-nil scoreline.

Tadley needed to come out and do much of the same in the second half, and another competitive forty-five minutes of football would ensue. However, the hosts, clearly not happy with how the first half went, came out firing.

With just a minute gone in the second half Farnham scored. Some well worked play in the middle of the pitch was moved to the left of the Tadley goal. The patient build up was completed when Liddle played through Sanders who found himself in acres of space and abl to pick his spot past Atkinson in goal.

Sanders could have doubled his tally but for the post, which came to Tadley’s rescue. Tadley did have the ball in the back of the net at one nil down through Jack French. Sheldon Wright found himself infront of goal but was unable to convert, Jack French picked up the loose ball and drove it into the net. However, the assistant referee lifted his flag adjudging French to come back from an offside position, keeping the score at 1-0.

Farnham & Sanders did double their goal tally when a ball over from the right handside was misjudged at the back & failed to be cleared. Sanders once again found himself free in the box, took a touch and beat Atkinson once more.

The third goal came from a moment of madness just ten minutes later. With the ball bouncing around in the middle of the park, and neither side managing to get a foot on it, Lewis Flatman hit the ball long up the field, and seemingly into the arms of Atkinson just right of his goal until disaster struck. Atkinson was unable to judge the flight of the ball, it bounced off his arm and rolled into the back of the net.

As Tadley were pushing to claw a goal or two back, Farnham struck again. The visitors counterattack broke down on the edge of the Farnham box, the ball was cleared long up the field where it found Adam Liddle just inside the Tadley half. Liddle took a fantastic touch, turned on sixpence and played the ball into the path of the oncoming Tanner who broke forward and struck the ball past Atkinson.

Tadley found themselves on the end of a four nil defeat but on the balance of play, and the chances for either side, it could have been different on another day. Clinical finishing proved the difference in this highly entertaining Combined Counties Premier South tie.