In September 2009, Tash was called up to the Devon's Senior Women's squad.

She joined Plymouth in October 2009, where she continued to score freely

In 2012 she joined the Grecians making her debut on 25 October 2012 against Oxford United scoring a late equaliser. Tash continued to score freely over the next 3 seasons.

Tash scored City's third goal in a 4–3 win in the 2013 Devon County Cup final against her former club Plymouth Argyle. Tash's final game for the Grecians saw her score twice in a 4–2 win over Torquay United in the 2015 Devon County Cup final.

Signing for Yeovil ahead of the 2015 season, where she score 6 times in 27 games in the WSL division 2, before rejoining Plymouth Argyle in 2016, she scored more than 80 goals for the Greens in less than 60 games.

In March 2021, Natasha moved to Buckland Athletic, on leaving Argyle the club said the following

"Top striker Natasha Knapman has also informed manager Dave Leonard that she would be joining Devon rivals Buckland Athletic, this had come as no surprise to the management team at Home Park, as Knapman had turned out for Buckland in a pre-season game against Bishops Lydeard.

Goal machine Knapman, who is a double Golden Boot winner, knocked in 181 goals in 156 appearances for Argyle."

She returned to Plymouth soon after. 

In July 2023 Exeter City Women have completed their fourth signing of the summer with experienced forward Natasha Knapman returning after a seven-year absence.

Tash was part of the successful City era of the mid 2010s, scoring sixty-three times in her fifty-three appearances and twice netting in successful County Cup Final wins for the Grecians. Knapman headed to the Women’s Super League with Yeovil Town Women in 2015 where she scored six times for the Glovers. 

After leaving the Somerset side, Knapman signed for Plymouth Argyle in 2016 and, with a brief spell at Buckland Athletic in between, has been a mainstay in Green for the past five years. The Torquay based forward is a double golden boot winner, scoring over two hundred times for Argyle and hitting a staggering sixty-three goals in twenty-seven appearances when last playing in Tier Four in 2018. 

Knapman was Plymouth’s top scorer in 2021/22 with fifteen goals but took a year away from the game last season, completing the London Marathon in support of the Blue Cross in April. 

City were certainly not short of goals last season, but the competition for places, or even the possibility of partnering Knapman with the prolific Sarah Stacey and Jenna Markham is an exciting prospect for Grecian fans.  

Joint City Manager Abbie Britton is delighted with the fourth addition of the summer. “I have wanted to work with Tash for the past two years. Her goalscoring record is exceptional and what she can add to the team will be invaluable. With Tash, Sarah, Jenna and Amber we are blessed with some wonderful attacking options. Despite missing out on promotion, the aim for the summer is to make certain that we keep moving forward and progressing as a team and as individuals, adding someone like Tash to the squad is a statement that we are going to achieve that aim.” 

Appearances and goals 

Team	Season	Apps	Goals
Totnes & Dartington	2007/08
Totnes & Dartington	2008/09	?	49
Plymouth A	2009/10	?	?
Plymouth A	2010/11		14
Plymouth A	2011/12	21	15
Exeter City	2012/13	12	12
Exeter City	2013/14	23	30
Exeter City	2014/15	23	30
Yeovil Town	2015/16	27*	6
Plymouth A	2016/17	25	34
Plymouth A	2017/18	27	61
Plymouth A	2018/19	11	19
Plymouth A	2019/20	21	23
Buckland A/Plymouth A	2020/21	?	15
Plymouth A	2021/22	27	15
Plymouth A	2022/23	0	0

Natasha returned to Exeter at the start of the 2023/24 season 

Exeter City	2023/24	8	4
Exeter City Reserves	2024/25	1	2

In November 2023 Exeter City Women forward Tash Knapman announced her retirement, bringing to a close the career of one of the region's most prolific goalscoring talents.

After securing a Bronze medal for England in the World Junior Taekwondo Championships in 2006, Knapman turned her attention to football and began playing for Totnes and Dartington. Signing for Plymouth in 2009, she would begin to establish herself as the County’s most sought after forward. 

After a three-year spell in Green, Knapman signed for Exeter City in 2012, hitting 72 goals in 58 appearances, including goals in the Grecians’ two County Cup victories of the 2010s. With such a record it would not be long before, then Women’s Super League side, Yeovil Town made an approach and Knapman moved to the Glovers. 

Six goals in the 2015/2016 season for the Somerset side was a promising start at the top level, but a move back to Plymouth Argyle in the summer would lead to Knapman accumulating the majority of her career goals. Six seasons in Green landed a title, golden boot awards, player of the season awards and County Cup dominance as Knapman hit 167 goals. A brief spell at Buckland Athletic the only break in her six-year spell at Home Park. 

After a year away from the game, Knapman returned to the Grecians this summer, looking to provide one final season to showcase her undoubted goalscoring talent. It would not take long for City’s difference maker to indeed make a difference, two late goals against Swindon Town securing a vital three league points. Knapman played in City’s FA Cup win at Helston last weekend, rounding the Blues goalkeeper to tap into the unguarded net, a familiar sight for the number 13 but one that will now act as a footnote as her last career goal. 

Knapman was full of praise for her final spell in football. “I want to thank Abbie and Aaron for the opportunity and the players and staff for being so welcoming, I only wish this set up was available ten years ago when I was in my prime! I have no doubt that the hard work put in every week will get the team where they want to be, I will definitely be cheering on from the sidelines and would love to see the girls promoted this season.” 

Joint City Manager Abbie Britton is sad to see Tash depart. “It’s a big loss. Tash’s movement and finishing is an education to any young forward, it can be the difference in big moments as we saw with the Swindon game. Ultimately, Tash has made the decision to spend more time with family and we all fully respect that decision. We all wish her nothing but the best and congratulate her on a fantastic career.” 

With over 300 career goals, a collection of titles, cups and personal awards, there is no doubting the fact that Natasha Knapman retires one of the Westcountry’s finest ever female footballers. 

Film

Paul F