Sun 28 Sep: Crystal Palace 2-0 Teddington Athletic

"I love to win, but I love to lose almost as much. I love the thrill of victory, and I also love the challenge of defeat" – Lou Gehrig

If we learn through experience, Teddington's first-ever defeat in the league can only make them stronger. After 17 straight three-point returns, the team came back from Kent with no points and – another first – no goals, but a few lessons learned and no bad feelings.

Lats season's Division 2 champions knew that this would be their toughest challenge yet. They worked on defensive shape in training, and before the match the players were given instructions on what to do when not in possession – not something that was of great concern last season, but something they will have to learn when playing the better sides in this division. It will make them better players, because nobody wins every game. It will make them better people, because nobody wins every battle.

And against a team that topped the league, having rattled in 13 goals in two matches – including against last season's runners-up Croydon – Teddington gave as good as they got for the majority of the game.

Imagine how good they'll be when they get a goalkeeper. Not that Ella V was anything but mightily impressive in goal: she made some good saves and radiated confidence to her defence. But while Jelly will chirpily don the gloves and do her best for the team, they have missed her dominating presence in the heart of the outfield, protecting the defence and creating attacks.

In her absence, and bearing in mind the danger posed by Palace, Ella Dodd dropped into the middle of defence and did an excellent job of keeping the home threat to a minimum. Although diligent in defence, Doddsy would like to operate further up the field – she was switched to centre-forward as Teddington chased the game after Palace's two heartbreakingly late goals – and the idea of her joining Jelly in the thick of the action gives pleasant pause for thought.

On either side of Doddsy, Teddington's twin titans of defence were as impressive as ever. Saskia Brewster and Millie Theobald have come a very long way together, and they adapted well to the added organisational skills of a more defensive line-up and the increased potency of the opposition: Palace's Teddingtonian 2-3-3 formation meant that Millie faced a tricky winger while Sas was up against a byline-chasing speedster.

Indeed, Palace seem to play in a way that seemed eerily familiar to Teddington-watchers. They prefer the short ball over the long – a wise investment, considering the long-ball game only encourages the favouring of a physicality that can only be temporary in teenage football – and play with two wingers looking to feed a central striker.

It's a comforting confirmation not only that are Teddington on the right track, but that this division isn't necessarily about big bruising long-ball opponents. Genuinely magnanimous in victory, the home team made it clear how impressed they were with their debutant visitors and how much they had enjoyed playing them. "You belong in this division," home manager Rick Lockett told the girls. He's not wrong.

Teddington also have danger on either side of their attack, on this occasion from Phoebe Head and birthday girl Sinead Morris; the side's first teenager was particularly unlucky not to get her 30th goal for the club, being denied on four or five occasions by good goalkeeping and swift defending.

Ale Fairn ran the front channels for all she was worth, being replaced by the red-faced but indefatigable Carla Novakovic. Every week Emily Coulson is learning – that verb again – how to combine her stunning creative vision with the increased workload demanded by this division.

And there's more in reserve. On this occasion, the hard-working team was bolstered by Ruby Rudkin, Ella Parkinson-Mearns and Millie MacEacharn, each willing to wait her turn, each determined to do her best once she crossed that line.

Next week, against a Fleet Town side that won last season's Division 1 but most recently lost to last season's wooden-spooners South Park, it might well be other squad members like Sadie Day, Sophie Wallman, Amy Hallett and Anna Kauffmann. They will play together, win together, lose together – and learn together.

TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC (3-2-3) Ella V; Millie Theobald, Ella Dodd, Saskia Brewster; Carla Novakovic, Emily Coulson; Phoebe Head, Ale Fairn, Sinead Morris. Subs: Millie MacEacharn, Ruby Rudkin, Ella Parkinson-Mearns, Anna Kauffmann. 

Thanks to David Theobald and Jan Kauffman for the pics