Sun 6 Oct: Guildford Saints (A) W 20-1

If history is written by the victors, Teddington Athletic are certainly stocking up on the stationery. Sunday's trip to Guildford Saints brought up a record-breaking score as the girls rattled in 20 goals with a sole effort in reply. 

Even without one of their leading scorers in Sinead Morris and key creative player Emily Coulson, the exciting league leaders were simply too strong for the brave Saints. 

Bazinga! A flying Phoebe strikes in the first half 

In the pleasant campus environs of the Surrey Sports Park, freshers were milling around, signing up for societies they may soon regret. No such worries for Teddington's youngsters. Each member of Dave W's squad is enjoying herself, with time on pitch being shared equitably among the players. 

At Guildford, some of the less experienced players got their chance to shine. True, much of Teddington's play in the first half went through top scorer Phoebe Head on the right wing, but that was frequently the result of constructive midfield play from increasingly confident team-mates.

Parky gets stuck in

For instance, right-back Ella Parkinson-Mearns - the latest birthday-anointed temporary captain - has turned from a safety-first line-clearer into a genuinely creative defender, looking up to see where the pass is and whether she can set up an attack. With Phoebe - and, later, other players on the right wing - making intelligent little moves into pockets of space, the right-back got three or four assists as Teddington inexorably turned determined defence into threatening attack.  

That's a fundamental tenet of Teddington's footballing philosophy: pass and move. Whereas earlier in the season, some might have employed the playground mentality of the head-down charge, each member of the team is being encouraged to pass and move - with results looking increasingly promising, and in this instance, devastating. Although Guildford's players were a credit to their manager and club, and never gave up, they simply couldn't cope with the enthusiastic waves of Teddington terrors determined to get in amongst them.

Millie Mac and Sadie take the game to Guildford 

For although the league may not recognise winning margins wider than eight goals, kids do. There wasn't a trace of malice in Teddington as they went for more and more goals, only a joy of the game. Phoebe had got the scoring under way after nine minutes, and went on to score three more despite spending much of the second half on the side after jarring her troublesome right knee. 

Top scorer of the day was the increasingly impressive Amy Hallett. Starting in central midfield alongside Ruby Rudkin, Amy later replaced Phoebe on the right wing and ended up bagging a merciless five goals.

All hail Hallett the Mallet!

Many of them were aided by the selfless and intelligent work of Ale Fairn up front. Working the width of the pitch while wary of the line that separates offside from onside, Ale was always available for those passes pushed out of defence – and always happy to pass it on again to her counter-attacking team-mates. Showing increasing calmness in front of goal, Ale bagged the hat-trick she richly deserved, before also hobbling off after an accidental whack on the ankle. 

Ale Fairn spreads the ball wide, under Dave's watchful eye

Also recording a treble was Ella V, who replaced her good friend Phoebe on the right wing, scored a hat-trick within seven minutes and quickly found herself substituted again. By that time manager Dave was giving as much game time as possible to the less experienced members of the squad, and they rewarded him by dominating the game and pressing incessantly for goals. Instead of looking for one or two go-to players, the girls passed and moved – and scored, and scored, and scored. Even when nobody bar the diligent was quite sure how many goals had gone in, the girls wouldn’t stop attacking.

Any time the ball got into the Teddington half, it was quickly and confidently dealt with by centre-back Millie Theobald and increasingly confident left-back Saskia Brewster, recycling the ball to team-mates before resuming their conversation and trying to maintain contact with goalkeeper Charlotte Ward, who was again unlucky not to keep a clean sheet. 

Millie T and Saskia: "Anyway, so she said to me..."

With Amy a constant threat from the right and Sophie Wallman and Sadie Day controlling the centre, Millie MacEacharn came in off the left wing to score for the second successive Sunday. Sadie got her own account off the mark with a calm side-foot finish into the corner, before herself limping off with another accidental knock. Skipper Ella PM, pushed up front while she nursed a wrist injury, also finished off a team move before retiring to the sidelines. 

Having spent the first half desperate to score in front of visiting relatives, and disappointed to be substituted at half-time (while understanding the managerial motives behind rotating the midfielders), Ruby rejoined the action and scored a couple of quick goals to prompt the widest smile of the day. 

A well-deserved post-match sit-down

Guildford were gracious hosts, and their determination is to be lauded. After the game, as Teddington's remaining uninjured players warmed down, the Guildford girls were back on the pitch going through drills, listening to the advice being passed down to them. That's what kids' football should be about, and now Teddington are taking on board the advice about passing and moving for each other, they may be very hard indeed to stop.   

TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC (3-4-1): Charlotte Ward; Ella Parkinson-Mearns (1), Millie Theobald, Saskia Brewster; Phoebe Head (4), Amy Hallett (5), Ruby Rudkin (2), Sophie Wallman; Ale Fairn (3). Subs: Ella V (3), Sadie Day (1), Millie MacEacharn (1)

2.30pm, Surrey Sports Park, Richard Meyjes Rd, Guildford GU2 7AD

For more images, please see the gallery; for fixtures, results and scorers, see the stats page