Take, for instance, "There's no easy games in this league". It's so often trotted out as to become trite, but the thing about clichés is that they are often true – that's why they're universally recognised. And that particular cliché was the latest lesson for Teddington Athletic's debut Premier League season.
Last week's draw – another first – at Croydon was Teddington's seventh top-flight game: they had faced all their Premier League opponents once, with two more encounters per team. Surveying the table at that point, they may have surmised that Colne Valley were the division's weak link: played 7, lost 7, scored 4, conceded 31.
Furthermore, when Colne turned up with only eight girls – none of them a goalkeeper – Teddington, up in third place on 13 points, might have expected a relatively easy morning. They got anything but.
It has to be said that the conditions were awful: constant rain battered the participants, with the poor pitch markings also presenting a problem – many a player dribbled straight off the sidelines. But to roll out another true cliché, the conditions were the same for both sides.
As has become the norm, the starting line-up was designed to give game-time to the squad's less experienced players. Fresh from half-term goalkeeper practice in the back garden, Anna Kauffmann pulled on the gloves (which got so wet they had to be replaced at half-time). With Millie Theobald away, Ella Parkinson-Mearns returned to the defence alongside Saskia Brewster. Sophie Wallman came back into midfield alongside Emily Coulson and Carla Novakovic; Sadie Day and Millie MacEacharn added width either side of Ale Fairn.
After a strong opening 10 minutes from the numerically superior home side, Colne started to show a greater desire for the game. Twice Parky had to head the ball clear, with visibly growing confidence in her own ability to do so; then Colne broke down their inside-right channel and Anna had to come out of her box to execute a block tackle.
On 11 minutes, Colne took the lead. The long throw flew past Parky, bounced high onto the chest of Sas, who couldn't control and clear, and evaded Carla before being tucked home by the striker. For the third successive week, Teddington had conceded the first goal. Another major test, then.
The goal didn't panic the home players, who endeavoured to rectify the situation. Emily started to come deep to orchestrate the comeback, and passed well to either wing; she was also one of several players to get involved in a somewhat frantic defensive action after Anna was penalised for handling outside the barely visible lines of the penalty area. The resultant free-kick was half-cleared six or seven times by various doughty defenders before the home side finally managed to banish the peril.
However, Teddington lacked penetration going forward. Two minutes before half-time, Ale did well to bustle through and fire a shot on target – but it may well have been the home side's first of the day.
Changes were needed, and they came at half-time with a quadruple substitution. Phoebe Head and Sinead Morris replaced Sadie and Millie Mac out wide, while Ella V and Ella Dodd replaced Sophie and Ale to bolster the midfield, with Carla switching up front. Within 10 seconds Teddington almost equalised: Jelly released Phoebe down the right, the cross wasn't quite gathered and the goalkeeper parried Carla's shot wide.
From the corner Phoebe got another shot on target and four or five followed soon thereafter, but Teddington also displayed the first signs of hurrying, shooting from distance instead of waiting for the right opening.
Still the chances kept coming. Given more attacking rein with the two Ellas behind her, Emily skipped past a couple of players and was brought down, to a harmonised "Ooh" from Sinead's parents under the cover of the cricket club awning. Emily wiped herself down to get the free kick on target, and although the goalkeeper spilled it, she recovered to parry Carla's rebound effort wide – and when Doddsy powered Jelly's corner on target, the keeper again did well to hold on.
Once more Teddington were facing a fine goalkeeping display – this time from a girl who hadn't done it before and needed some heavy persuading to don the gloves. When Emily powered through the middle on a 3v3 break and fired toward the top corner, the newby net-minder stretched up to save impressively.
As the game ticked into its final quarter, some were wondering if the equaliser would ever come. On 53 minutes Phoebe fired into the side netting, and a minute later a corner from the left evaded the goalkeeper but flew over Carla's head and Phoebe couldn't quite turn it in at the far post.
The goal finally came with 14 minutes to go, with a slight slice of luck born of attacking in numbers. Winning the ball in left midfield, Emily tried to find Doddsy breaking through the middle but the ball sailed straight past to Phoebe, who rifled it inside the near post. Cue knee-sliding celebration and a quick reminder from a thoroughly undersatisfied manager that the score was still only 1-1.
Teddington could have endeavoured to throw it away – some players seemed guilty of assuming things would happen rather than making it so, being reactive rather than proactive – but Colne feared the worst as the home side continued to press.
Just after the hour Phoebe ran almost the entire length of the right touchline to cross toward Sinead, Emily and Carla; the diminutive striker found Emily, but the shot went straight at the goalkeeper. It was more of a miss than save, but Emily made up for it two minutes later with her second successive vital late goal... even if last week's was controversially chalked off. On this occasion, after intense pressure in the visitors' box the ball fell for her to fire home past the goalkeeper's right hand and seal the points.
The result was not unexpected, but was unlucky for Colne, who played with a desire far outweighing Teddington's. Let's not go overboard – the win put Athletic up to second, only behind leaders Wimbledon on goal difference – but over the last few weeks the Premier League newbies have frequently failed to show how good they really are, and at a post-match inquest the manager asked how much the girls want to kick on to the next level.
There are no league games for the next three weekends: firstly it's Abbey Rangers in the Surrey Cup, then Teddington travel to Colne again in the Capital Cup, after which the whole of women's football has the day off to watch England vs Germany at Wembley.
It's a month that should hopefully inspire this promising team, who have the talent to be whatever they want to be, but will need to remember that nothing worth fighting for comes without effort. When they return to league action on November 30th, Teddington face a rematch with the champions and league leaders AFC Wimbledon. One way or another, that game will reveal much about exactly how good this team can become.
TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC (2-3-3): Anna Kauffmann; Ella Parkinson-Mearns, Saskia Brewster; Sophie Wallman, Emily Coulson (1), Carla Novakovic; Sadie Day, Ale Fairn, Millie MacEacharn. SUBS Ella Dodd, Ella V, Sinead Morris, Phoebe Head (1).
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