Tadley Calleva 1 Tooting and Mitcham United 1 (Tadley won 4-2 on penalties) – 18 October 2025 Report

Match Report

We said goodbye to any dreams of a Wembley appearance after defeat in the Hampshire countryside, but after a long and tiring journey for players and fans alike, the lottery of a penalty shootout proved a step too far against a decent Tadley Calleva side, who gained some measure of revenge for a 3-1 reverse at Imperial Fields just three weeks earlier. The ninety minutes was a nip and tuck affair, with both sides enjoying periods in the ascendency, and both keepers in pretty good form throughout. Toby McKimm was the busier in the opening exchanges, repelling efforts from Kieran Rodgers, Jordan Goater and Aime Kamden inside the first ten minutes. Tooting finally managed to make inroads of their own into the Tadley half and came closest yet when a looping header from Shay Brennan bounced off the crossbar – not once, but twice!

The first half finished goalless, and it was the turn of the home keeper to make an impressive save ten minutes into the second when Donnacha Burke denied Shay again. As the half progressed, it looked increasingly as if one goal either way would be enough to earn progress into round three, so when the hosts finally broke the deadlock on 73 minutes, with Connor Thorne’s strike from the edge of the box finding its way past Toby – who got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out – it looked like Tadley’s afternoon. However, this Tooting side have resilience in abundance, which resulted in skipper Antonio Simeone forcing the shootout thanks to his first of the season just ten minutes from the end. Sadly, it wasn’t to be, as although Shay Brennan and Conor Melody both found the target from the spot, Max Oldham and Nathan Mampono couldn’t with their efforts, and Tadley squeezed through.

Team Lineup