Sun 29 Nov: Teddington Athletic 1-2 Crystal Palace Reds

A blustery Broom Road afternoon brought together two very closely-matched teams. Only once has there been more than one goal between these teams – in their first meeting, 14 months previously, when Palace bagged two in the last five minutes. 

Since then, each side won 2-1 in a foreshortened double-header, before Teddington were desperately unlucky to lose 1-0 in a League Cup Final they arguably shaded. As Palace manager Rick Lockett openly acknowledged before the game, although the league leaders had won all nine games – rattling up an average victory of something like 7-1 – almost all those wins had been against the struggling bottom three: their season started here. 

Manager Dave Waldron's best-laid plans were somewhat disrupted when his intended centre-back threw up. Millie Theobald has faced serious competition from Anna Kauffmann for the right-sided defensive role, but with Ella Waldron earmarked for a midfield role Millie was set to hold the centre – until she arrived at Broom Road and promptly vomited. 

Although Millie bravely warmed up and offered her services, she wasn't called upon as Teddington used other members of their squad in different roles, extra options brought about through careful training over the weeks and months. Deciding to keep Ella Dodd in the midfield position she has been so impressive in lately, the management opted instead to revert Jelly to the centre-back role she has maintained all season, instead setting Carla Novakovic man-to-man on Palace's impressive No.11 Rebecca Sobowale.  

Amy Hallett continued in defensive midfield behind Doddsy and Emily Coulson, flanked by Phoebe Head and Ella Bothamley with Ale Fairn the front-runner. On the bench, awaiting the call to replace tiring legs, were Emily Bashford, Sadie Day, Millie T (theoretically) and Ella Parkinson-Mearns, making a welcome return after a knee injury had kept her out since early September. 

Teddington served notice from the first minute, Boz cutting in to fire just wide of the left-hand post. Pressing high, the home side started to force corners which fizzed agonisingly across the six-yard box. Although the wind was more lateral than vertical, it was favouring Teddington and helping them pin Palace in, with Phoebe and Emily pinging in range-finders.   

Top scorer Phoebe typified Teddington's tenacity. Digging back to within five yards of her own goal-line, she won the ball and set off forward, knocking the ball into the space in front of her. Four times she faced opponents but went in with all her heart, even when one of them accidentally smashed it against her midriff, and four times she won the battle, eventually winning a corner before blowing out her cheeks in well-deserved recuperation. The corner, incidentally, was almost fumbled in by the atypically hesitant Palace goalkeeper.

Not for nothing, though, did Palace win both Cups last season, and they were having their own chances. A speculative effort pinged against the increasingly impressive Ruby Rudkin's goalframe, falling to a visiting striker who could only clear the bar. 

But after 22 minutes, Teddington took a wholly deserved lead through a wholly deserving scorer. A summer signing from Wimbledon, Ella Bothamley has settled in well both on and off the pitch, even if she sometimes lacks a little self-belief. It will do her no end of good that she scored in such stunning fashion against the league leaders, profiting from the pressure applied by Phoebe and Ale to run on to a loose ball 25 yards out. Hitting it first time, Boz delightedly watched it sail past the goalkeeper for a glorious opener. 

She almost doubled the lead four minutes later, connecting well with a header from Phoebe's cross but watching it go just over. Shortly after, both those protagonists – who, as wide midfielders rather than wingers, had combined threatening attacks with diligent defensive work – were withdrawn for a well-earned rest, with Bash and Sadie coming on. 

However, Sadie soon received a painful bang on the hip and was replaced by Parky, slotting into a midfield role – another to benefit from previous experience in different positions. And the same was true a minute after the break, when a wincing Ale rolled her ankle and was replaced up top by Boz. 

Thirty seconds later, Teddington had other problems. For the first time in the game, dangergirl Rebecca managed to cut inside onto her favoured right foot and curled it expertly into the bottom corner. 

Buoyed by the leveller, Palace sought the advantage against a suddenly teetering Teddington. Combative midfielder Mia Lockett surged from deep but the finish didn't match the run. It didn't matter: eight minutes into the half, Palace broke through into the box and the No.9 who had scored the Cup-winning goal in May once again put her side in front. 

Teddington had to chase the game, and they did so valiantly, despite playing a very good side in a strong wind. Replacing Parky, whose knee had thankfully held up to a 15-minute run-out, Phoebe led the charge – but to start with, it was her good friend Jelly who caused the most chaos. Her shot from distance confused the keeper and just missed the post, then her throw created utter confusion in the six-yard box, with a Palace defender almost cleaning out her goalkeeper in the course of heading it narrowly over her own bar. 

With 15 minutes to go, Teddington had worked their way back on top. Bash's combination of physicality and speed were causing problems on the left, while on the other side Phoebe was simply terrifying the Palace defence. In a beautifully-worked move started by Emily C, Pheebs played a give-and-go with Boz and hared down the right, crossing for Bash who was only denied by a bravely smothering goalkeeper.  

Teddington tried but couldn't find a way through, despite pushing Doddsy up top and Jelly into midfield – with Amy dropping in at centre-back, the sixth different position on her personal odyssey of quietly astute Total Football. 

And in the end, perhaps that is the point. Teddington didn't win – they were once again one goal short of matching the division's best team. But the girls played with pride, fire and skill, and continued their education in football and life. Long may it continue. 

TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC Ruby Rudkin, Anna Kauffmann, Ella Waldron, Saskia Brewster, Amy Hallett, Carla Novakovic, Phoebe Head, Ella Dodd, Emily Coulson, Ella Bothamley (1), Ale Fairn. Subs Emily Bashford, Sadie Day, Millie Theobald (not used), Ella Parkinson-Mearns.

Thanks to David T for the pictures - more after the table.

Sun 22 Nov: Teddington Athletic 0-0 Maidenhead

In the supposed hierarchy of football results, 0-0 is often thought to be the worst for neutrals. Unlike most other sports, the game is predicated upon the relative rarity of scoring success, yet when neither team makes the breakthrough there is a guilty feeling of failure, of promise unfulfilled.

Often, though, these hierarchies are fatuous generalisations which disregard individual attributes and attractiveness. Just as a well-engineered car park can have more design worth than a City of London skyscraper, a good 0-0 can be more involving than any ground-out 2-0 or cakewalked 4-1.

So it was with Teddington’s second game against Maidenhead Blue Sox. Having blitzed the Berkshire league last term, the newcomers have sought, and found, harder opposition in the Surrey League – and have started to make their mark on what is turning into a fascinating Premier Division season.

Maidenhead hosted Teddington on a crisply autumnal early-October day at Bisham Abbey, and gave as good as they got in a 3-2 reverse. That was their fourth successive single-goal defeat to last season’s top-four sides, but since then they have found their feet with three home wins against the division’s relative strugglers (Palace Blues, Fleet and South Park) and a hard-fought 1-1 at wobbling champions Wimbledon.

As a result they came to Broom Road a point clear of their hosts, albeit from two games more. Teddington have had their own dichotomous season: comfortable wins over South Park (twice) and Kempton, plus that rather harder victory at Maidenhead, have contrasted with disappointingly comprehensive beatings at Abbey and Wimbledon.

So it was with some interest that Teddington prepared for Maidenhead’s visit: tactics were tweaked, formations discussed and personnel considered. The home side had clipped wings: with Phoebe Head ill, Emily Bashford away and Sinead Morris having left the team, they were without their three fastest flankers.

However, Millie MacEacharn has made that left-sided berth her own not through speed but through hard effort, teamwork, diligence and awareness. Having impressed in a cameo on the right against Kempton, Ella Bothamley slotted straight in alongside an unchanged central midfield quartet of Amy Hallett, Ella Dodd, Carla Novakovic and Emily Coulson, the latter particularly happy to support ever-willing front-runner Ale Fairn.

The defence was also unchanged, which is credit to another girl who has settled straight into a position. Although Millie Theobald is available again, Anna Kauffmann will be a difficult team-mate to dislodge in that backline; the Danish girl once again displayed tactical awareness, no little vision on the ball and a fleetness of foot that often got her team out of trouble.

To managerial despair, a Teddington team that had been asked for a high-tempo opening started the game as if still in pyjamas, but by the fifth minute they were asserting themselves on Maidenhead. Ceaselessly pressing their opponents, the strong midfield had the upper hand for most of the first half.

The hard work tired the home side, but that’s where rolling substitutions help: work hard, have a rest, come back on. Positional flexibility helps, too: when Boz ran herself ragged on the right, Millie T came on in defence, Anna pushing into midfield and Emily floating out wide.

Sadie also discovered a new position, the right-winger coming on to replace Macca on the left, and getting involved in a lovely flowing move that ended in perhaps Teddington’s clearest chance of the half.

Amy Hallett strode out of defensive midfield and played a clever diagonal for Sadie, who skipped past the right-back and dummied inside with an ease which might have even surprised the affable winger herself. Her astute pull-back found ale at the near post, but her instinctive first-time flick was the wrong side of the wood and ruffled the side-netting.

Not that Teddington had had it all their own way. Just before the half-hour a Maidenhead corner was volleyed in from the edge of the area, with Ruby’s parry and a messy clearance only finding a striker – who then found herself pounced upon by the brave goalkeeper.

Ruby was again impressive five minutes into the second period: an uncharacteristic mistake from Jelly allowed the striker in on goal, but Rubes got down well to push it wide.

Two minutes later Maidenhead breached the back line again. This time it was through good passing rather than defensive error, and indeed Millie T showed great composure to recover, rescue the ball, work her way wide and calmly play the ball out of defence.

As in Berkshire, Maidenhead had the better second half after Teddington edged the first period. Unlike in that first game, the goals didn’t follow, but the football did. Although each team could use a long throw from the commanding centre-back, this was no war of attrition, with both sides plainly preferring to play the ball on the deck and pass through their opposition. It may not have resulted in goals, but it made for a game that was fascinating and absorbing rather than tense and fearful – as did the cordial relations with the Maidenhead management.

With their next five league games all against those bottom three sides, Maidenhead may well have built up a fair head of steam – and number of points – by the time they come to face the title challengers again. They may well make Teddington’s own top-four ambitions harder to fulfil, but in this reporter’s view Maidenhead are a welcome addition to the league.

TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC Ruby Rudkin, Anna Kauffmann, Ella Waldron, Saskia Brewster, Amy Hallett, Ella Dodd, Carla Novakovic, Ella Bothamley, Emily Coulson, Millie MacEacharn, Ale Fairn. Subs Millie Theobald, Sadie Day.