The girls’ side have gone into their fifth, and presumably final, season after a summer of changes. At the 2016/17 awards ceremony they were already saying farewell to Saskia Brewster, Anna Kauffmann and Millie MacEacharn; over the summer, they also lost Ale Fairn, Sadie Day and Amy Hallett, while Hannah Hutchison dropped out in late summer to make a worrying seven departures out of last season’s 16-strong squad.
Such things happen – this too shall pass, especially with teenage girls balancing multiple extracurricular activities with the demands of GCSEs – and reinforcements had already been sought. Jennifer Neves had agreed to stay on after the disbanding of last year’s U16s managed by Christelle Pontico, while Frances Clark had signed up after several impressive performances for Hampton last season.
After further negotiations, commitment-juggling and frankly managerial pleading, two more familiar names signed on: Sarah Dillamore, a defensive stalwart for the thick end of a decade for Christelle Pontico’s TAFC team in the age-bracket above; and Amy Hallett, one of Dave Waldron’s own long-servers, persuaded back into the fold after being assured just how much her coaches and team-mates appreciated and needed her.
It cannot be denied that the squad has a certain imbalance: of the 13 players, probably only Dillers and Millie Theobald would describe themselves as defenders. But the management have decided to make lemonade, taking advantage of their players’ adaptability and pressing on with last season’s plan to play attacking full-backs. So attacking, it seems, that they’re actually midfielders. These too shall pass.
And so Millie T, centre-back stalwart since 2013, found herself at the heart of a new defence protecting goalkeeper Ruby Rudkin. With Dillers unavailable for the first two games, to Millie's right was a familiar face: Amy, who once again played with calm efficiency and excellent game-reading skills. At right-back, Jen Neves slipped in like she’d played there all her life, thoroughly deserving the accidental accolade of wearing Saskia’s borrowed No.21 shirt. And at left-back, with Frances nursing a foot injury, was none other than Emily Bashford.
If the defence was remodelled, the attack was largely intact, and Teddington started their season full of inventive brio: they could quite conceivably have been 3-0 up within three minutes. Certainly they forced three corners: from one, Giulia’s back-header flew narrowly wide of the far post, and from another, Liz’s six-yard shot was cleared off the line with Doddsy not quite able to scramble the rebound before Bash, adventurously augmenting the attack despite her defensive starting position, had a go from the edge of the box.
Not that it was all set-piece threat. In between those two chances, a flowing move through Boz and Doddsy found Emily dead centre, 15 yards out, but just about beaten to it by the desperate defender. The talented Em has declared a desire to be more central to the team’s plans, metaphorically and spatially; encouraged by the management to drift inside, she did so throughout the game and frequently found herself in dangerous positions.
Indeed, there was a pleasing fluidity to Teddington’s play considering the changes in personnel and position. With full-backs encouraged to roam forward, Bash tore up and down the left, her fearless physicality becoming a threat in attacking positions and a comfort further back, while her pace and energy kept her shuttling between the two.
She’s also blessed with knowledgable, adaptable team-mates. When Bash buzzed forward, Captain Carla kept an eye on the vacant left-back position, as did Emily: in the seventh minute, with Bash tearing forward, Em cleverly stepped back to fill the gap - and when Bash was dispossed, Em immediately rewon possession with a great tackle, played a one-two with Carla and curled in a dangerous cross not quite met by Doddsy or Boz.
By that time, Boz was revving her engine like a woman possessed, and Hampton could do little to stop her. In the fifth minute her deceptive ball from out wide had floated just over the bar with the stand-in goalkeeper helplessly back-pedalling, and two minutes later Boz’s dangerous cross found Doddsy thwarted by the goalie’s brave punch; the centre-forward rapidly gathered the loose ball and swivelled to shoot but dragged it just wide.
Back when they were just Hampton, the opponents had proved themselves capable of upsetting Teddington, with a 2-0 win back in February. Since then they have strengthened and after 12 minutes they declared their intentions with a decent attack down their left, drawing both Teddington’s centre-backs over to the danger – but there was Bash, covering across like a teenage Maldini to collect and clear the cross.
A minute later, H&R took a rather more direct route towards goal, knocking one long over the top. Again, Bash zoomed back behind her centre-backs to collect it, but before she could get there the ball was met by Ruby, who has been working out all summer and was quickly out of her box to startle the forward and clear the danger.
Teddington almost profited from another corner, this time from the right flank, when Doddsy made a great diagonal run to the near post and sidefooted it calmly towards, but sadly past, the far post.
That was the last threat to the stand-in goalkeeper, who performed diligently until the real netminder arrived halfway through the half – and was immediately into the action with a quite superb save. A first-time Boz left-footer, swinging in from the angle of the box, cut savagely back towards the near post and forced the newcomer to significantly adjust her footing to tip over. From the corner, Doddsy rolled both the defender and a left-foot shot, but again just wide.
It was a temporary reprieve: just before the 25th minute struck, Teddington did. This time the threat came from the left, Bash cutting inside and crossing right-footed; understandably drawn to Doddsy, the defenders didn’t see Boz ghosting in from the right, calmly stroking home right-footed into the corner.
Hampton & Richmond couldn’t complain about being behind but they certainly did their best to change it. Just after the half-hour they broke through but Ruby comfortably gathered the low shot; two minutes later another good run from the visitors’ left-sider attracted lots of defenders, but when she cleverly lifted it over the centre-backs Ruby was again out quickly to clear.
Teddington pressed for the comfortable margin they thoroughly deserved. Doddsy burst through but had a left-footed shot saved, before the goalkeeper again proved her excellence, brilliantly saving Emily’s close-range right-foot shot with her left foot, then the point-blank left-foot rebound with her right foot, drawing applause from the spectators and embraces from her team-mates.
As the half drew to a close, Jen started to come into the game. Driving on from the right-back zone into open fields, the debutant had the time and skill to pick out a lovely curling cross for Doddsy, whose shot looped just over.
With two minutes to go, Teddington constructed their best move so far, a series of interlaced passes creating five-yard triangles down the left as Em and Giulia interchanged at will; coming over to get involved, Doddsy rolled in a clever little ball to put Em through on goal but the offside flag, not for the last time, thwarted the hosts. A goal there would have been a fitting end to a half of superb football that should have garnered much more reward.
At the turnaround, Frances made her debut as Bash was rested to the bench, ready to return in any number of positions as required. As ever, when asked if she’d play left-back, Bash wasn’t sure she could but was certainly happy to give it a try; as usual, she gave her all, surprised herself and delighted the team with her energy, interceptions and even an assist for the goal. She now offers a viable alternative in a host of positions, and she can look forward to an exciting season full of involvement.
Five minutes into the second half, Teddington had the ball in the net again but it was ruled out for offside amid confusion and discontent. Emily had eventually bagged after good work from Boz, but following an extensive referee-linesman consultation offside was declared, possibly against Doddsy in the early part of the move.
The disappointment got considerably worse a minute later when the visitors equalised. Frances had been penalised for a handball in the centre circle, the ball was lofted into the danger area and the forwards wanted it more than the defenders. It wouldn’t be the last time a set-piece would cause Teddington discomfort.
The visitors were visibly bolstered by the equaliser, and although a Liz run down the right produced a cross-come-shot that drifted past goalkeeper and post, H&R had definitely ruffled Teddington out of their elegant stride. Football is cerebral but also physical, and the guests were no longer happy to stand admiring their hosts. One challenge in the centre circle was robust enough to makes the referee twice put whistle to lips, but not enough to blow; quite correctly, the visitors barreled on and shot but Ruby handled it well.
Again, that hurt all the more when the visitors promptly went up the other end and in front. From reasonable Teddington possession, H&R broke with pace and purpose to pierce the back-line and take the lead. Their goalkeeper, evidently an anxious sort, responded with another bout of vomiting, bless her; there were a few among the Teddington numbers who might have felt the same.
Still, Teddington did what they do. With 13 minutes of the regulation 80 to go, a beautiful move involved Doddsy’s devastating diagonal pass to Emily, who could have shot but squared instead for the slightly better-placed Boz to have her shot really well saved at the near post – and neither Giulia nor Emily could quite turn home the resulting corner.
Another minute later, another move down the home side’s left flank. Clearly settling in and notably determined to give her all against her old mates, Frances ripped down the flank, leaving a couple of defenders on the floor, before squaring for Liz 20 yards out – but the American lifted the shot over the bar, a trick she repeated three minutes later.
That Teddington were largely attacking down their left after much iof the first-half action came down the right – as handy for the coaches as it must have been annoying for the spectators – was a tribute to Fran, Em and friends on that side, if a shade disappointing that Boz couldn’t repeat her utterly dominant first-40 performance. Indeed, with seven minutes to go she would have been substituted, if she hadn’t gone and equalised – collecting Doddsy’s brilliantly-won knock-down and calmly slotting into the far corner.
That left time for a winner, and Teddington fancied it. Bash immediately came on anyway, replacing Giulia with Em coming central and Boz left on to surf her adrenaline. But as both sides charged forward, it would be Hampton who scored again, in time added on for vomiting.
It looked like their chance had gone when dangerous forward Mia turned inside the centre-backs and fired a shot off the far post. But Hampton collected the clearance, and their next attack was ended brusquely at the corner of the box. A wall was hastily assembled, but the free-kick was lofted over it and into the bottom corner to win the match with the final kick.
So for the second successive game, albeit separated by four months or more, Teddington sickeningly lost 3-2 to a late goal after battling back to parity. Since that Cup Final there have been many changes but the song remains the same: go for goals, play the game, have fun.
This may be a curious campaign, with some pick-and-mix teams, but the squad and coaches are determined that their fifth and final season should be enjoyable. And in a first half one-sided enough for the visiting coach to apologise for winning, the girls produced some of their finest football, the kind that may make them players for life. And that’s enough, whatever else comes to pass.
TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC Ruby Rudkin, Jen Neves, Amy Hallett, Millie Theobald, Emily Bashford, Liz Kriebel, Carla Novakovic, Ella Bothamley (2), Giulia Clini, Emily Coulson, Ella Dodd. Sub: Frances Clark.
Thanks to Catherine for photography: much more below.
A great read, as ever, thanks Gary. Good luck with the season, girls!
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