Virgo Fidelis ("Faithful Virgin") Convent Senior School was founded in 1848 by Henriette le Forestier d'Osseville, aka Mother Saint Mary, with funds provided by her father, Count Theodose le Forestier d'Osseville. The first Catholic orphanage in England since the reformation, Saint Mary's school sought to shelter the Victorian unfortunates left to fend for themselves by lack of familial protection.
Under the school's imposing Gothic gables, a different story of family ties was played out this Sunday. Parental enthusiasm for their children's sporting pursuits is the motor that drives kids' football, and long may it continue. Around every Sunday-morning pitch you'll find a gallery of doting dads and well-meaning mums, there as taxi-drivers, emotional counsellors and food-finders.
Teddington Athletic's assembly of parents and kids headed over to Norwood in numbers, boosted by the return of three midweek injury doubts. With Sinead Morris over her knee injury, Carla Novakovic shaking off a cold and Sadie Day's ankle healing, Teddington had 12 to choose from – until Ruby Rudkin aggravated a knee problem in the warm-up.
With Ella V covering in goal for Anna Kauffmann, Ella Dodd away and Ruby hobbled, Teddington were forced into Plan D for the vital defensive-midfield role – and the choice was perhaps surprising. The diminutive but indefatigable Carla stepped into a role that often demands physical strength, but equally requires football intelligence and positional discipline, both abilities she has displayed in spades.
Again, Teddington didn't start well on a poorly-marked, uneven pitch with very long grass, and curious things started happening. Awarded a handball, Teddington were surprised to see the ball moved back three yards to be outside the area, the referee's reasoning being that "I couldn't see the lines". When questioned why he allowed the home wall to stand substantially less than 10 yards back, the ref replied "My pitch, my opinions, my rules".
Later, after whistling for a foul without signalling a direction for the free-kick, the ref was asked which way. "Our ball," he replied, instantly demolishing any pretence at impartiality.
The two sides continued to play out a hard-fought match – occasionally too hard-fought, as certain players got involved in unnecessary niggles with their opposite numbers. But amid the battling were glimpses of class.
One came from Millie T, a reliable defender but one who looks to keep rather than clear the ball. Arriving in time to effect a clearance, she noted that Sinead was breaking right, altered her body shape and changed the clearance into a clever through-ball. Sinead went through and scooped it over the goalkeeper but just past the post.
Teddington attack and defend as a team, as displayed in the 25th minute when Jelly couldn't cut out a corner and the shot was fired in from the edge of the box; with Jelly beaten, Carla threw herself bodily in the way of the ball to block a certain goal.
Jelly recovered her poise to deny Croydon's impressive centre-forward three minutes later. Although she was second favourite to reach the cross, the No.12 did very well to turn the shot goalwards, but Jelly clawed it over to keep the sheet clean.
Just after the half-hour Sinead did well to win the ball in midfield and feed Amy, who slipped it through for Ale to chase down. She and the goalkeeper clashed – malice-free, but hard enough to injure both players. Touchline tempers were rising.
Half-time brought substantial changes from the visitors. Ale limped off, with Amy also withdrawn, and the initially unwilling Millie Mac went in goal. Parky came in on the right of what was now a back three and Jelly joined Emily in midfield; Carla moved up front, Sinead switched back to the left and Sadie came on to the right wing.
The changes helped but the game was still even and disappointingly stop-start. Emily showed a flash of creativity by bustling down the right and pulling a shot just wide of the far post, but it wasn't an enormous surprise when Croydon took the lead in the 47th minute. As the home side broke through, Parky doggedly got back to block them but the ball squirmed out for the striker to lob a strange little shot over Millie Mac from three yards.
For the third time in three weeks, Teddington found themselves behind – and for the third time in three weeks, they responded resiliently, if still somewhat haphazardly. When their pressure forced a 52nd-minute corner, Emily took it and watched it roll along the bar; a minute later, Sinead burst through and fired wide of the far post.
Then in the 58th minute came the most eyebrow-raising moment of the game, and indeed any other that this correspondent has seen in 20 years of covering football for a living. Straining to take a long throw within her own half, Jelly may well have stolen a yard or two, but the game continued; Sinead battled for the ball and fed Emily, who burst through on goal and hammered home the equaliser… except it wasn't.
The Croydon coaches remonstrated with the referee that the throw had been taken from the wrong position. The referee suddenly seemed to agree, but didn't restart with a retaken throw from the correct position, as should happen; instead, play restarted with the ball in the Croydon goalkeeper's hands. Cue fury on the touchline.
Ten minutes later, Carla was fouled out on the left-wing. Jelly's fired free-kick hit the near post, bounced off the goalkeeper's back and nestled in the net. It was cruel on the net-minder, but at least it was some consolation for the disgusted visitors. Within seconds of the restart, the referee ended the match curiously early.
Under the circumstances, Teddington did admirably to keep their thought processes in order – in the "blue head", as they learned pre-season. Theirs was very far from a good performance, but it was also far from the worst on display.
Kids' football is not about winning and losing. But nor is it about clear bias. In the build-up to the game, Croydon had been affability personified, enthusiastic about their visitors' season so far and helpful with directions, parking advice – the little things that go so far to making the fixtures friendly and pleasant.
Sadly, that is not the memory that will abide from this game. You don't have to agree with a referee; you don't have to like him, but you do have to respect him. Respect is automatically assumed and conferred upon impartial football officials, as it should be, but in the wider world respect is hard won and easily lost. With his manner and his actions, his words and his decisions, this referee systematically destroyed that respect – and that cannot help but reflect badly on Croydon, with whom he is clearly very familiar… too familiar, considering he was cuddling some of the home players and was driven away from the game in the home manager's car.
Croydon are a good club, and it is to be hoped that the two clubs can get over this whole sorry episode. After all, the two teams must face each other at least twice more this season. Let's just hope that next time, the attention is on the players rather than the ref.
TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC (2-3-3) Ella V; Millie Theobald, Saskia Brewster; Carla Novakovic, Amy Hallett, Emily Coulson; Sinead Morris, Ale Fairn, Millie Mac. SUBS Ella Parkinson-Mearns, Sadie Day, Ruby Rudkin (unused, injured). Pics by David Theobald
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