Fragata brace gets Tadley Calleva back on track

Tadley Calleva got back to winning ways for the first time since November 9th on Saturday.

They travelled to south-west London to face Balham strugglers Balham, hoping for a confidence building win.

Aime Kamdem returned to the starting lineup, alongside Sheldon Wright and star winger Alex Miller, following a 2-0 loss away to Fleet on Tuesday.

It was former Thatcham and Hungerford wideman Alex Fragata who made an early breakthrough.

Centre-back Andrew Charsley stepped out of defence to clip an excellent long ball over the Balham back line.

Fragata met it with a perfectly timed run, finding himself one on one with the keeper.

He finished neatly to make it 1-0 and put Calleva in the driver's seat at half-time.

Tadley had a fight on their hands to maintain their slender lead, with the hosts threatening early in the second half.

In the 58th minute however, it was Fragata who stepped up once again.

Some good work from Sheldon Wright on the edge of the area saw him produce a chipped pass into the box.

It was met by Fragata, who finished with authority to grab his brace and double Tadley’s lead.

Ten minutes later, Balham’s fightback began to bear fruit.

They won a penalty, which was calmly converted to make it 2-1 and set up a dramatic finish.

Balham continued to apply pressure in the closing stages, but Tadley’s resilience saw them through at Imperial Fields.

The win was Tadley’s first in their last six games, having lost four and drawn one since their trip to Jersey Bulls early last month.

Calleva now find themselves eighth in the Combined Counties Premier Division South.

They are currently eleven points behind the last spot in the playoffs, occupied by fifth placed Fleet Town at present.

Tadley do have the chance to make up ground rapidly however, as they currently have two games in hand on Fleet.

This is even more significant when it comes to fourth placed Cobham, who have played five games more than Tadley.

Calleva are not the only side with games in hand however, and those games will have to be won when they are eventually played.

For now, Tadley can look forward to the visit of midtable Chipstead on Saturday, their last fixture of 2024 before they host Spelthorne Sports on January 4th.