A firm advocate of watching the first half from on high to assess the playing patterns, Sam Allardyce once advised your reporter that Sunday League managers should consider using an umpire's chair "to get a better view". Even Signor Allardici wouldn't suggest moonlighting as a referee to get a closer view of the action, but he's missing out.
Pressed into official service when the whistle-blower failed to show, I had the pleasure of watching table-topping Teddington construct their moves (and destroy the opposition) from closer quarters than ever. It was a delight. Even if the ref's-eye-view is one of constant snap decisions over minutiae rather than the all-encompassing, trend-detecting overview of the spectator (or preposterously-seated gaffer), it was a joy to watch this talented Teddington team demand the ball, use it intelligently and work for each other.
Even losing goalkeeper Charlotte Ward to a vital engagement elsewhere failed to dent the squad's confidence. On the back of demolishing Abbey Rangers and Guildford Saints with double-figure scorelines, the girls had been warned that Caterham would present a much harder challenge. They did: Teddington merely stepped up their game and continued to crash in the goals.
Sinead Morris started it, opening the scoring on six minutes. The Thierry Henry fan has missed the last two games, in which her team-mates have totted up nearly three dozen goals by passing their opponents into submission, but she finished her first chance like she'd never been away. Furthermore, whether played up front or on the wing, she showed a winning willingness to look up and find her colleagues, understanding that a pass can beat players more easily than any dribble.
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| Boink! Sinead shoots |
Phoebe Head already knows that, and Teddington's top scorer doubled the lead six minutes after Sinead's opener. Sinead made it three with a lashed finish and Phoebe's fourth, on 26 minutes, was no unrealistic reflection on the home side's dominance. Caterham are a decent team with some confident, skilful players - but the same goes for Teddington, in spades.
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| Phoebe: Head up, looking for team-mates |
It says much for the team's confidence that manager Dave W again chose to employ the two-at-the-back system that had worked so well the previous week. Saskia Brewster may prefer a personalised warm-up to make sure her knees don't hurt, but there's nothing rickety about her once the whistle blows: fast maturing into one of the division's best defenders, she invariably ended Caterham's attacks with perfectly-timed interceptions before intelligently recycling the ball to a team-mate, often with a well-placed vertical pass that immediately starts a counter-attack.
Alongside her, Millie Theobald was just as impassable. Another who times her tackles to perfection, Millie also passes well, usually with the outside of her foot. She's not showing off, it's just her style. Between the two of them, it's no surprise that replacement goalkeeper Millie MacEacharn kept a clean sheet until half-time.
By that point, Dave had made a triple substitution, bringing on Ella Parkinson-Mearns in midfield - an unaccustomed position but one she tackled as enthusiastically as ever - alongside Ruby Rudkin, who displayed her usual barnstorming determination, and Sadie Day, who is starting to combine her dedicated tackling with increasing confidence on the ball.
It says much that, at 4-0 up, Dave felt able to take off his two leading scorers (Phoebe and Amy Hallett) and key midfielder Ella V, whose arrival in the team has taken its performances up another level. And it speaks volumes about the depth of talent in the squad that within three minutes of the triple swap, 4-0 had become 6-0. Both those late goals were scored by Emily Coulson, whose consummate ease on the ball grows by the week.
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| Emily brings it all under control (as Amy watches on) |
Soon after half-time, Caterham pulled a goal back - whizzed directly from a free-kick past substitute goalkeeper Ella V, who protested that she had been blinded by the strong autumn sun - and proceeded to have their strongest spell of the match.
It is to Teddington's great credit that they held the visitors at arm's length, determinedly defending their lines, and added a couple up at the other end - Emily completing a deserved hat-trick and Millie Mac popping up with an equally well-warranted goal.
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| My, that's a fashionable referee... |
And when, late in the game, Teddington spread the ball to Amy, your reporter was privileged to watch from close quarters as she flicked the ball past the left back, turned on the burners and lashed home Teddington's ninth and final goal.
One big question remains. Next week, second-placed Kempton come to Bushy Park, and are expected to welcome their key striker back into a team whom Teddington were slightly fortunate to beat 4-2 last month.
If Kempton are the latest to fall, Teddington will be more than halfway through the season with a 100% record and can legitimately start planning for challenges in higher divisions, whether in this season's League Cup (first opponents: Caterham again, in three weeks' time) or next season in the league.
TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC (2-5-1): Millie MacEacharn (1); Millie Theobald, Saskia Brewster; Amy Hallett (1), Sophie Wallman (c), Ella V, Emily Coulson (3), Phoebe Head (2); Sinead Morris (2). Subs: Sadie Day, Ella Parkinson-Mearns, Ruby Rudkin. Bushy Park, 10am KO. Many thanks to Simon 'Opta' Day for data collection.
