Sun 30 Apr: Maidenhead L 2-3 (Surrey League Cup Final)

In the run-up to their second Surrey League Cup Final in three years, the Teddington Athletic under-15 girls were told how England’s World Cup-lifting rugby captain Martin Johnson prepared for a big game: “I put my boots on.” The girls’ own journey to the final was perhaps a bit more complicated and less glorious, but what a journey it has been, and all who follow the team should be grateful.

The big-match insight came courtesy of Martin Fairn, himself a former elite-level athlete now better known as “Ale’s dad”. The performance-enhancing mental prep was augmented by a fair few coaching sessions on the green grass of Udney Park as the management attempted to prepare a group who’d had just one morning of matchday football in the past six weeks.

Otherwise, it was business as usual. Unlike their opponents Maidenhead, who to be fair had a bit further to travel to reach tier-seven side Merstham's Moatside stadium, Teddington didn’t hire a team bus to reach the game – a good decision, as it turns out, considering the Berkshire side’s temporary transport failed to turn up and the long-suffering parents had to scramble a fleet of cars. By contrast, for Teddington it was situation normal: turn up, warm up, listen up, play up.

After the full rehearsal of the Carshalton double-header and five training sessions, Teddington’s management had plenty of insight on their available players. They started with Ruby Rudkin in goal behind Amy Hallett, Hannah Hutchison, Millie Theobald and Saskia Brewster. Carla Novakovic returned alongside Liz Kriebel behind Giulia Clini, with Emily Coulson and Ella Bothamley providing the width behind Ella Dodd.

Ale Fairn, Emily Bashford, Sadie Day and Anna Kauffmann provided back-up and vocal support from the bench – or rather the swish fold-down seats in an actual dugout, with a technical area in which the coaches prowled, pointed and prayed.

Settling quickly despite their transport troubles, Maidenhead took two minutes to record the game’s first effort, a shot from distance into Ruby’s gut. Teddington quickly responded with their own sighter, Liz’s left-footer over the bar from a corner-kick, but the Berkshire side soon took control.

Seven minutes in, Teddington allowed the Maidenhead captain on the edge of their area to turn and pick her spot past Ruby. Needing to step up literally as well as metaphorically, Teddington were relieved to see their goalkeeper stop another long-distance effort with her shins.

It wasn’t all one-way traffic – a good passage of play down the left opened up for Carla to have a strong shot from distance – but Maidenhead doubled their lead in the 19th minute. Again, Teddington gave their opponents too much rope, failing to build adequately from their own goal-kick, losing possession in a dangerous position and watching the shot fly over Ruby into the far corner.

At this point, the match could have been a massacre. Maidenhead had already put six past Teddington in one league game this season, then five without reply in another. But that wasn’t going to happen in a final, because Teddington discovered inner reserves of ability and belief to launch a stunning comeback.

It started in the 26th minute with a concerted press which gave Emily the chance to shoot from a tight angle. That flew wide, but Teddington tails were up and they scored in the very next minute thanks to the efforts of several key players.

First, Hannah Hutchison won the ball on the halfway line and strode confidently into Maidenhead territory. Earlier in the season, she might have got rid of the ball with a hopeful punt forward; but the constantly developing Hutch now has the guts and guile to look for the best pass. Here, her clever ball sent that ever-willing Boz scurrying towards the corner flag. Maidenhead recovered to clear for a throw, but the respite was temporary.

As Boz stooped to pick up the ball, Doddsy displayed her increasing awareness and physical fitness – topped up outside training on long runs with her old mate Carla – by darting into space to receive the throw. Cushioning it back to Boz, she immediately spun backwards into the area, taking the defender with her. That created even more room for Boz to pick out yet another brilliant cross into the danger zone – and there was Emily Coulson, timing her run and being brave enough to loop a header over the goalkeeper. It was the popular Em’s 12th goal of the season, doubling her output from last year and drawing her level as top scorer with Doddsy… briefly.

For if that goal gave Teddington hope, two minutes later they had joy – and parity. If Maidenhead were unpicked for the first goal, they were pick-pocketed for the second: a poorly worked goal-kick seized upon by Doddsy, who immediately switched into ice-cool mode to calmly roll past the goalkeeper for 2-2.

Back on level terms, Teddington were now in a more comfortable place to make tactical changes. Replacing the brilliant Boz and Emily on the wings, Sadie and Bash were given the last eight minutes of the half to add pace – and certainly did so. Bash was into the action within seconds, clambering onto her bike and tearing at the back three.

Maidenhead, who have only lost to one team all season, were still calmness personified in midfield, admirably aiming to play little 10-yard diagonals to each other, rarely resorting to the longer ball. At the back, things were a touch more chaotic: at one point, racing to receive a Teddington through-ball, the goalkeeper succeeded only in whacking the clearance against her defender’s back. The Berkshire team were clearly the happier to hear the half-time whistle, opting to spend the downtime out on the pitch rather than return to the changing room.

The second half was a fascinating battle; Teddington often had the upper hand – a point acknowledged by Maidenhead’s ever-pleasant manager Pat Mullings – but the Berkshire side also had their chances.

Teddington’s tended toward the tantalising. Four minutes in, Giulia reacted quickly to a poor clearance with a looping shot which fell out of the sky and was just about bundled away. Eight minutes later, good work by Liz sent Doddsy down the inside-right channel; she worried the ball-playing defender Zuri Mullings into conceding a corner which the goalkeeper couldn’t collect, Bash sticking out a leg and watching the improvised effort bounce just wide of the far post.

Just after the hour, speedster Bash displayed superb skills to drag back and cut inside; the ball pinged around the area until Doddsy laid off to Liz just outside the box. Seizing the time to time to pick her corner and test the freshly-introduced substitute goalkeeper, the American sent a gorgeous effort floating in what seemed like slow-motion just wide of the top corner; as Coffee noted on the bench of her watching coaches, “You all jumped up at the same time!”

Passing the hour mark, Teddington made more changes, more through injury than tactical desire. On 62 minutes, Boz replaced the hamstrung Sadie; seven minutes later, Giulia – who had been struggling with a painful rib injury – and the ankle-knocked Amy were replaced by Emily and Anna.

Still Teddington came, although the suspicion started to grow that the next goal was the winner. Hence the joyous relief when Ruby’s save ended a Maidenhead attack down the right with five minutes to go.

A minute later, Teddington came agonisingly close to winning it. Boz’s incessant probing down the right forced a corner, which she took with her usual knack for creating danger. For what seemed like hours, the ball bounced around the sandy six-yard box as various defenders desperately attempted to hack it clear while Teddingtonians equally determinedly tried to hack it in. Saskia almost managed, before the ball was half-cleared to Carla on the edge: eyeing immortality, she lifted the ball towards the top corner… but it flashed just over the bar.

And then, with just three minutes to go, the sickening blow. A momentary loss of concentration at the back allowed a Maidenhead girl to receive the ball, turn and fire past Ruby. Teddington threw forward with everything they had, including replacing Millie T with Ale (whose introduction had been sadly delayed), but to no avail.

The cup was Maidenhead’s, but Teddington deserve a huge share of the credit, as was freely and cordially noted by Pat Mullings. Two down early in a cup final, a weaker team could easily have folded, but they battled back, throwing everything into the effort. By the end, five girls were injured: Sadie’s hamstring, Giulia’s ribs and Amy’s ankle joined by Ruby’s jaw, while the bruising to brave Hutch’s ankle got so severe that she ended up in A&E.

That’s not to say this was a dirty game – far from it. Maidenhead aren’t that sort of team and there was no needle in this final; Teddington delivered their post-match handshakes with sorrow rather than spite. The injury list merely confirmed how much the girls had put themselves into this game. Quite frankly, they deserved better than to fall to a late goal.

But then, life doesn’t follow a script, football isn’t always just, and these girls are learning important lessons. Out on that Merstham pitch they may not have won the game but they won respect. They can look at themselves and each other and know that they gave everything they had, everything they could. They have found within themselves the ability and determination to try harder than they thought possible – and that will serve them better than any medal.

TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC Ruby Rudkin, Amy Hallett, Hannah Hutchison, Millie Theobald, Saskia Brewster, Liz Kriebel, Carla Novakovic, Ella Bothamley, Giulia Clini, Emily Coulson (1g), Ella Dodd (1g). Subs: Ale Fairn, Sadie Day, Emily Bashford, Anna Kauffmann.