At just after midnight on the eve of this game, the management and various parents of Teddington Athletic players were at a 1970s party, grooving on down to Get Lucky and throwing semi-comic shapes on the improvised dancefloor. But you make your own luck in football, and the young girls on duty the next day, thrown into a new shape by that same management, were far from fortunate to win yet another game – and proceed to the quarter-final of their second cup in a fortnight.
Teddington's development has been a credit to the players and club, but progress is a process. With great challenges to come, in league and cup, the management wanted to try out a new system making subtly but importantly different positional demands on an already successful team. As usual, this exemplary bunch of players tried it willingly – and executed it encouragingly.
With Anna Kauffmann still hobbled, Ella V continued in goal behind a defence which reverted to the usual back two of Saskia Brewster and Millie Theobald. Ella Dodd and Carla Novakovic anchored the midfield behind Phoebe Head, Sinead Morris and Emily Coulson, while Ale Fairn returned to front-running duties; watching, waiting and learning on the sidelines were Ella Parkinson-Mearns, Millie MacEacharn and Amy Hallett.
The kick-off to this Capital Cup 2nd Round game was unusually late – perhaps a blessing for certain sore heads among the adults – but like their parents the night before, the team wasted no time getting into the swing of things. Within the first two minutes Phoebe had flown down the right and crossed in dangerously, and although Sinead couldn't connect the clearance went straight back to Phoebe who fired wide.
Up the other end, the season's first really muddy-goalmouthed pitch had been regarded warily in the warm-up by Jelly, although she showed no hesitation in flinging herself in with typical determination once battle commenced. That said, she didn't have too much to do herself as early Colne counter-pressure was mopped up by an impressively organised rearguard.
And on 10 minutes, Teddington turned defence to attack with a flowing move which typified their invention and team play. From a throw-in in their right-back area, a loose ball in midfield was won by Ella Dodd, making herself big using her instep to spray a calmly controlled pass out wide to Sinead. Turning inside her marker, the left-wing flyer unselfishly laid it back across the edge of the box to Ale, who herself controlled, turned her marker and laid it on again to Phoebe, popping up in the inside-right channel to lash it high past the goalkeeper.
Ten minutes later, scorer turned provider. Rescuing a Doddsy shot that was going wide, Phoebe crossed for Emily in the six-yard box to knock home a first-time shot for 2-0.
On 24 minutes, the same three players combined brilliantly again, Doddsy winning the ball in midfield and supplying Emily, who although facing the left wing knew that Phoebe was running down the right and excellently reversed the play to her. With Colne desperately scrambling across Phoebe fired the ball toward a terrifying trio (Emily, Ale, Sinead) waiting in the middle, but Em's shot was slightly too weak-ankled and drifted wide of the far post.
By now, this was the pattern: Teddington were controlling the game, if not quite ending it. When Jelly cleared a hopeful through-ball, Doddsy supplied Phoebe to again trouble the left-back but the resultant cross was over-politely passed around by Emily, Ale, Sinead and Doddsy, the queuing quartet strangely hesitant to shoot.
No such dilly-dallying with the clinching third goal, just before half-time. After some midfield pussyfooting Teddington hassled Colne into an error and Doddsy laid it wide right to Emily. Immediately faced with a left-back and covering centre-back, Em simply hit the byline and fizzed a cross back to the edge of the six-yard box, where an acrobatic Ale displayed her fleetness of foot and thought by adjusting in mid-air to volley home left-footed.
Half-time brought about changes: Parky for Saskia at the back, Millie Mac for Phoebe out wide and Amy for Ale up top. The tiny but mighty Amy almost scored twice in the opening two minutes, but it was another diminutive demon who quoshed any hopes of a Colne comeback with the fourth and final goal on 38 minutes.
Desperately repelling Amy and her cohorts, the home side had managed to clear the ball out of the congested area. There mopping up behind the midfield – as she had the whole game, with the tactical intelligence that makes her a joy to work with – was little Carla. With a box full of friends and foes, Carla bypassed the lot by lobbing the ball into the top corner; it was perhaps unfortunate for the goalkeeper, but if Carla got lucky, she had earned it.
The rest of the half was the Sinead show. Stationed on the left wing in the first half and thus right on top of the home fans, the ever-improving winger had incurred their wrath with her combination of gutsy battling and pacy dribbling. With Millie Mac replacing Phoebe at half-time, Sinead was switched to the right flank – meaning she stayed with those same spectators.
Teddington's development has been a credit to the players and club, but progress is a process. With great challenges to come, in league and cup, the management wanted to try out a new system making subtly but importantly different positional demands on an already successful team. As usual, this exemplary bunch of players tried it willingly – and executed it encouragingly.
With Anna Kauffmann still hobbled, Ella V continued in goal behind a defence which reverted to the usual back two of Saskia Brewster and Millie Theobald. Ella Dodd and Carla Novakovic anchored the midfield behind Phoebe Head, Sinead Morris and Emily Coulson, while Ale Fairn returned to front-running duties; watching, waiting and learning on the sidelines were Ella Parkinson-Mearns, Millie MacEacharn and Amy Hallett.
The kick-off to this Capital Cup 2nd Round game was unusually late – perhaps a blessing for certain sore heads among the adults – but like their parents the night before, the team wasted no time getting into the swing of things. Within the first two minutes Phoebe had flown down the right and crossed in dangerously, and although Sinead couldn't connect the clearance went straight back to Phoebe who fired wide.
Up the other end, the season's first really muddy-goalmouthed pitch had been regarded warily in the warm-up by Jelly, although she showed no hesitation in flinging herself in with typical determination once battle commenced. That said, she didn't have too much to do herself as early Colne counter-pressure was mopped up by an impressively organised rearguard.
And on 10 minutes, Teddington turned defence to attack with a flowing move which typified their invention and team play. From a throw-in in their right-back area, a loose ball in midfield was won by Ella Dodd, making herself big using her instep to spray a calmly controlled pass out wide to Sinead. Turning inside her marker, the left-wing flyer unselfishly laid it back across the edge of the box to Ale, who herself controlled, turned her marker and laid it on again to Phoebe, popping up in the inside-right channel to lash it high past the goalkeeper.
Ten minutes later, scorer turned provider. Rescuing a Doddsy shot that was going wide, Phoebe crossed for Emily in the six-yard box to knock home a first-time shot for 2-0.
On 24 minutes, the same three players combined brilliantly again, Doddsy winning the ball in midfield and supplying Emily, who although facing the left wing knew that Phoebe was running down the right and excellently reversed the play to her. With Colne desperately scrambling across Phoebe fired the ball toward a terrifying trio (Emily, Ale, Sinead) waiting in the middle, but Em's shot was slightly too weak-ankled and drifted wide of the far post.
By now, this was the pattern: Teddington were controlling the game, if not quite ending it. When Jelly cleared a hopeful through-ball, Doddsy supplied Phoebe to again trouble the left-back but the resultant cross was over-politely passed around by Emily, Ale, Sinead and Doddsy, the queuing quartet strangely hesitant to shoot.
No such dilly-dallying with the clinching third goal, just before half-time. After some midfield pussyfooting Teddington hassled Colne into an error and Doddsy laid it wide right to Emily. Immediately faced with a left-back and covering centre-back, Em simply hit the byline and fizzed a cross back to the edge of the six-yard box, where an acrobatic Ale displayed her fleetness of foot and thought by adjusting in mid-air to volley home left-footed.
Half-time brought about changes: Parky for Saskia at the back, Millie Mac for Phoebe out wide and Amy for Ale up top. The tiny but mighty Amy almost scored twice in the opening two minutes, but it was another diminutive demon who quoshed any hopes of a Colne comeback with the fourth and final goal on 38 minutes.
Desperately repelling Amy and her cohorts, the home side had managed to clear the ball out of the congested area. There mopping up behind the midfield – as she had the whole game, with the tactical intelligence that makes her a joy to work with – was little Carla. With a box full of friends and foes, Carla bypassed the lot by lobbing the ball into the top corner; it was perhaps unfortunate for the goalkeeper, but if Carla got lucky, she had earned it.
The rest of the half was the Sinead show. Stationed on the left wing in the first half and thus right on top of the home fans, the ever-improving winger had incurred their wrath with her combination of gutsy battling and pacy dribbling. With Millie Mac replacing Phoebe at half-time, Sinead was switched to the right flank – meaning she stayed with those same spectators.
Some players might have wanted to hide on the opposite side, but not Sinead; if anything, she improved in the second half, at one point dribbling 60 yards up the touchline, chalk-booted, right in front of the spectators, with opponents floundering in her wake. And when she was substituted later in the half, to rest her up and give Phoebe another few minutes' run-out, she accepted it with a winning smile and a true team-player's commitment.
Being Sinead, she didn't just stay out on the wing either. Having tucked into central midfield when defending, she received the ball and powered out wide with it, dragging defenders with her. Stopping at the line, turning and beating a couple of players, she crossed to the near post for Carla to control and beat her defender. The goalkeeper saved but the rebound came to Doddsy, motoring ominously onto it at the edge of the box; with exemplary calmness and technique, she powerfully sidefooted it... just wide.
Against a team who just a fortnight earlier were only a few minutes from taking points off them in the league, Teddington were easily the better team and in no way flattered by 4-0 – if anything it could and should have been more. This young side continues to improve and can now look forward to quarter-final clashes in two different cups.
Next up in the Capital Cup, in mid-January, they host Denham United of the Hertfordshire League. Should they win that, they may face Charlton Athletic in the semi-final; the victors there might meet Tottenham Hotspur in the final. First, though, attention returns to the league, and a trip to champions and leaders AFC Wimbledon. It's shaping into an unforgettable season, all modern football and 70s dancing, flair and flares.
TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC Ella V, Millie Theobald, Saskia Brewster, Carla Novakovic (1), Ella Dodd, Phoebe Head (1), Emily Coulson (1), Sinead Morris, Ale Fairn (1). Subs Ella Parkinson-Mearns, Millie MacEacharn, Amy Hallett.
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