The Dons are the reigning champions and current leaders of the division. They are also the only league opponents Teddington have never beaten, winning each of the four previous meetings by a variety of margins from an initial 6-2 Surrey Cup win to more recent triumphs by the odd goal in five.
Even so, the visitors would hope to have given a better account of themselves than this. Two down within 15 minutes – the first a deflected own goal from an uncleared corner, the second a simple long ball bypassing a disorganised defence – they made a remarkable number of unforced errors, from conceding three foul throws within five minutes to conceding a slack third goal in the first 30 seconds of the second half.
More seriously, some of the players allowed their heads to drop. There are talented players within the Teddington squad, but some of the most blessed are in danger of finding that football is an unforgiving team sport. Ability is nothing without application, and what marks out the successful sportsperson is not as much talent as tenacity – not revelling in success but knuckling down in the rough times. On this occasion, some players may reflect that they let their team-mates down.
That's not to say that all players were disappointing. Ella Bothamley might have trudged off the field wondering why on earth she left Wimbledon for Teddington, but she had done the hard yards up front and was deeply unlucky to see a fine second-half strike hit the bar; worse, Wimbledon promptly hit a long ball up the other end and made it 4-0.
Ella Dodd, too, deserves credit for playing in a number of positions with equal valour. Starting in midfield, she dropped into the back-line to replace Ella Waldron and then switched up front after Ale Fairn had withdrawn ill. Also under the weather with a cold that had her barking like a dog, Ruby Rudkin gave a typically gritty performance behind a defence that frequently did too little to protect her – a point underlined late in the game when the hosts danced down the right touchline and ended the scoring all but unopposed.
Maybe Teddington have been naive in their switch to 11-a-side. Certainly a squad full of attacking talent is suffering from a relative lack of fit defenders. It may be that the formation has to change, although that may require more round pegs in square defensive holes. And while managerial lessons will be learnt and have already been earnestly discussed, the finest tactics and talent mean nothing without hard work on the field.
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