There is no shame in honourable defeat. Teddington tore into the terrified league champions, displaying the best of their attacking style, before bowing out with sportsmanlike behaviour, pride in their performance and hope in their hearts.
It's no exaggeration to say that Teddington could have scored five goals in the first 15 minutes: feel free to count along. They took the lead in the third after Sinead Morris feinted and zoomed pasted her defender; her shot was very well blocked by the goalkeeper, but although Ale Fairn couldn't quite turn in the rebound Phoebe Head was free to lash it into the roof of the net.
Wimbledon immediately told their right midfielder to double up on Sinead – "That's the girl I was on about," said one coach to another – but it had no immediate effect. Despite playing through an illness, Sinead promptly burst through again and almost doubled the lead, prompting the visitors to substitute their right-back and replace her with their speedy striker.
Still Teddington pressed, again through Sinead. The flying winger has come on leaps in bounds over the past year, and is now easily intelligent enough to know that if she's being double-marked, that creates space for others: accordingly, she sent a clever through-ball towards Ale, but the goalkeeper got there first and although it bounced out to Phoebe, her centre found Ale offside.
It was a roaring start but Teddington must continue to learn and improve, especially at the back. It's a process that's already started but there's work to do yet. In the 11th minute, a Wimbledon break down the left attracted too many ball-watching defenders, inevitably producing a cross – although there was certainly an element of fortune about the way that cross found its way into the bottom corner of new goalkeeper Anna Kauffmann's net. It was Wimbledon's first shot of note, if indeed it was a shot, but it serves as a strong reminder that Teddington are now facing very good teams.
Facing them and matching them, with options to spare, as their next two chances showed. A minute after being pegged back, Ella Dodd sent Phoebe haring down the right, and her first-time cross was met first-time by Ale on the run but deflected wide. Shortly after, a raking throw-in from Ella V – clearly relishing the battle – sent Doddsy through on goal; although the midfielder could arguably have shot, her clever attempted square ball for Sinead was well cleared for a corner. Two minutes after that, Phoebe battled for the ball in midfield, won it and tore past her left-back. Running through on goal with Sinead screaming in from the left and Ale bursting through the middle, Phoebe instead tried a delicate chip that almost came off.
Some might say, with the benefit of hindsight, that those last two decisions were mistakes; instead, let's celebrate the fact that each attack brought options, carefully assessed and intelligently executed. After 15 fabulous minutes, Teddington had created half a dozen clear chances against the reigning champions, most of which had only been frustrated by excellent goalkeeping.
The pace slackened a little toward half-time as Wimbledon started to gain toeholds, but Teddington still had chances, with the best two falling to Emily Coulson. Having last season floated behind the front three in a fairly free trequartista role, Emily has adapted very well to the harder demands of the top flight, and worked hard for her team-mates in the new midfield triangle – but increased responsibility it doesn't quash her creativity.
Plucking a 17th-minute clearance from the air on the right-wing touchline, Emily beat the beleaguered left-back and then, with the outside of her right foot, screwed in a shot that a rather desperate defender cleared against her own post. And on the half-hour, with Teddington getting back on top after a period of end-to-end football, she retrieved the ball in midfield, cleverly turned toward goal, worked her way to the edge of the box and fired in a left-foot shot that that goalkeeper again did well to get down and push wide.
If the first half was all-action, the second was fractious as a series of refereeing decisions – and it has to be said, the reaction to them – threatened to overshadow the fine football on display. Eight minutes in, with Wimbledon in the ascendancy, Teddington broke down the right; the linesman flagged Sinead offside but was correctly overruled – the left-winger wasn't involved in the play – and Phoebe's shot was well saved.
A minute later, a ferocious shot from the edge of the Teddington box was very well parried by Anna and her defenders got back to clear, but Wimbledon were obviously gearing up and they soon had the ball in the net… to no avail. Breaking down the right, Wimbledon crossed to the unmarked central striker who tucked it tidily away; but after consultation with the linesman, the referee ruled the goal out, decreeing that the finisher was in front of the pass. It was an arguable call and boy did AFC Wimbledon argue about it, with the clearly rattled striker in tearful disbelief and the coaching staff seeking clarification from the referee.
The arguments lent the game a harder edge, and after a first half filled with attacking brio, Teddington spent much of the second demonstrating their newfound resilience in defence. Once again Saskia Brewster and Millie Theobald were magnificent in defence, diligently following their opponents and, having dispossessed them, looking to use possession as intelligently as possible. In front of them, Jelly was a force of nature, organising her team-mates and switching from side to side as occasion demanded, while Doddsy and Emily continued to put in the hard yards in midfield.
They needed to: Wimbledon aren't champions for nothing and were starting to get on top. After 16 minutes of the second half, the visitors broke through on goal but Anna snaked out a foot to poke it wide. Teddington were tiring but sticking to their tasks, with substitutes starting to roll on for the injured – Sadie Day coming on when Phoebe got a knock to the shin, Ella Parkinson-Mearns standing in when the steadfast Saskia took a full-forced shot straight in the face, Carla Novakovic replacing the exhausted Ale, and Ruby Rudkin emerging late on for Jelly.
Teddington's captain for the day (and ever the most vocal presence), Jelly had been visibly rattled by events in the final 10 minutes. Going into a tackle on Wimbledon's towering No.7 with more purpose than panache, Jelly was distraught to give away a free-kick – and it got worse when the shot was fired in and, despite Anna's fine parry, attackers got to the rebound first to finally put the league champions in front.
Three minutes later they extended their lead from a corner Teddington literally gave to them. A strong Wimbledon shot was heading for the bar when Anna nimbly tipped it over; the ref gave a goal-kick but the home side, after asking Anna honestly if she'd touched it, voluntarily overruled him. From the resultant corner, Wimbledon turned home their third to seal victory.
Not that Teddington gave up without a fight. Emily once again broke through and once again saw her shot well saved by the visiting goalkeeper – a Wimbledon newcomer who apparently doesn't train with the team, being based in Reading, but how glad they must be to see her turn up on a Sunday.
Even she was powerless to prevent Sinead getting a last-minute goal, thoroughly deserved on a personal level and giving the scoreline a much less inaccurate look. As victorious visitor Ahmed reported after the game, "A lot of the parents were saying how good a game it was, and how your team is so much stronger since we last played you. Good work and see you soon." They certainly will: Wimbledon are back at Bushy Park at the end of next month.
The top-flight newbies will have learned an awful lot from this game, but let's be fair: they already know a lot. They play football with an attacking élan and love of the game lacking in many contemporaries. The aim is to win, but the overriding ambition is to have fun while learning transferable skills. These girls are learning ball control, passing and movement infinitely preferable to muscling and moaning. Long may it continue, in sparkling victory or honourable defeat.
TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC (2-3-3): Anna Kauffmann; Millie Theobald, Saskia Brewster; Ella V, Ella Dodd, Emily Coulson; Phoebe Head (1), Ale Fairn, Sinead Morris (1). Subs: Sadie Day, Carla Novakovic, Ella Parkinson-Mearns, Ruby Rudkin.
Thanks again to Jan Kauffmann for the pics: there's more after the table.
Great report. Felt as if I was there when I read it.
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