Tadley Calleva lose again, but route into playoff contention is clear

Tadley Calleva suffered their third league defeat in a row on Saturday as they travelled to Sheerwater FC.

In recent weeks the Romans had lost to Jersey Bulls and Cobham, hoping to reverse this trend with a three point haul at the weekend.

The lineup saw Andrew Charsley return to the heart of defence alongside Brad Neal, while star striker Kieran Rodgers was back from suspension.

He came straight back in to spearhead Tadley’s attack, meaning Brett Denham dropped to the bench.

It was a disappointing start however, as the host took the lead after half an hour.

It was Sebastien Rowland who broke through the Calleva lines to open the scoring, leaving Joe Lawler’s side with plenty to do.

Ten minutes into the second half, things hadn’t changed much.

With Tadley struggling to test their hosts, Lawler made a quadruple change.

Charsley, Alex Miller, Aime Kamdem and Sheldon Wright all departed, replaced by Kieron Farmer, Connor Thorne, Jenson Mansel and the ever-dangerous Denham.

Dan Williamson later came on for captain Jordan Goater, but none of these changes would prove enough to break down a stubborn Sheerwater side.

With ten minutes to go, the hosts ended any hopes of another famous Tadley comeback.

Henry McDonald netted from the bench to wrap up a tricky afternoon for Calleva.

Three consecutive losses have done little for Tadley’s playoff hopes.

They were well in contention at the start of the year, holding games in hand which, if taken, would have catapulted them into the playoff race.

As it stands they still possess three games in hand on the final playoff team, fifth placed Fleet Town.

Tadley trail by eleven points however, meaning that they’ll likely need to win all of those rescheduled matches.

They can do themselves a huge favour on Saturday however, as they host Fleet at Barlows Park.

A win would make a playoff push considerably more realistic, as they look to put together a strong run-in.