Lawler pleased as Tadley Calleva get back to winning ways

Tadley Calleva manager Joe Lawler was pleased with his side’s performance away to Abbey Rangers on Saturday, as they inched closer to the playoff places.

Alex Miller opened the scoring at Addlestone Moor in the 25th minute, as he pressed a Rangers defender into an overhit back-pass.

What should have been a simple pass to the keeper’s feet ended up missing its target entirely, allowing an onrushing Miller to tap home into an empty net.

The hosts would pull one back just before the break, as they reacted first to a second ball from a long throw.

A hard fought second half saw the game swing back and forth, but it was Calleva who found the extra gear.

A period of sustained pressure saw Miller flick a reverse ball to Connor Thorne, who found himself one on one with the keeper.

He poked the ball home with a neat finish to put Tadley back in front with just ten left on the clock.

Three points on the road was exactly what Calleva needed, following a loss to Whyteleafe and a draw to Camberley in recent weeks.

“They’re always around the top eight,” Lawler said of Saturday’s opponents.

“So we expected them to be good, and they were, they gave us a hard day.

“It was a weird game, we just didn’t quite click in the final third.

“We were in control for most of the game, but we were a bit frustrated due to them defending well.

“In the second half we were putting the pressure on.

“Alex and Connor linked up with a one-two which was a really nice goal, and we just defended it from there.

“We’re a team that will continue to go right to the end… we’ll never give up.”

Calleva now find themselves on the cusp of the playoff positions, with multiple games in hand on the sides above them.

“We were a little bit disappointed to lose to Whyteleafe and Knaphill,” he said.

“In this league it’s about putting runs together. We’ve had a sticky patch so it was great to get back to winning ways.

“Now we have to put that run together, with four hard league games ahead of us.

“Over the next few weeks we’ll know where we are, but we have to take it game by game.”

Calleva are in league action this Saturday as they host strugglers Sheerwater at Barlow’s Park.