Knaphill’s season ended in disappointment as they fell to an emphatic 5-0 defeat at Tadley Calleva in the Combined Counties Premier Division South.

With sixth place up for grabs, the home side rose to the occasion in blustery conditions, displaying a ruthless edge that Knaphill could not match.

On a windy afternoon, Tadley adapted quickest and struck inside two minutes. Brad Neal drove a low cross into the box that bounced awkwardly on the surface, and Brett Denham got across his marker to flick the ball into the far corner and give the hosts an early lead.

Just four minutes later, Denham doubled his tally with a goal that summed up Tadley’s sharpness in the final third. A driven cross from the right by Aime Kamdem skipped across the face of goal before reaching Denham at the far side of the box. Unmarked, he had time to control the ball and blast it into the bottom right-hand corner.

The third goal arrived in the 69th minute after a driving run from Scott Costello opened up space. He found substitute Jack French, whose shot was blocked bravely by James Glover. The ball bounced kindly to Alex Miller, who steered a controlled volley past Knappers keeper Sam Gray to make it 3-0.

Tadley’s fourth was a moment of quick thinking from Kieran Rodgers. Awarded a free kick 35 yards from goal, Rodgers took it quickly and caught Gray off his line. Carried by the wind, the ball curled high into the top corner.

The fifth and final goal was the pick of the bunch. A long diagonal ball from captain Jordan Goater found Rodgers in space on the right-hand side. He met it first time on the volley, sending a thunderous strike across goal and into the top corner.

By James Carpenter