That Fleet Town have been such habitually difficult opponents for Teddington Athletic is as much to praise the Hampshire side as to denigrate their Middlesex opponents.
Since both were promoted to the top flight in summer 2014, the teams had met on four occasions, and they had only been separated in the first instance – October 2014’s hard-fought 2-0 away win for Teddington. And Fleet arrived for this latest clash as Teddington’s closest top-flight neighbours, four points behind their fifth-placed hosts.
Not for the first time, Fleet started the game the livelier side, but were repelled by the Teddington defence: a somewhat sleepover-afflicted Ruby Rudkin in goal, centre-back Millie Theobald flanked by Saskia Brewster and Anna Kauffmann, with Amy Hallett mopping up in front of them.
For the first 15 minutes, a midfield lacking flu victim Ella Dodd was more defensive than attacking – but Liz Kriebel, Emily Coulson and Carla Novakovic (also fighting a virus) stuck to their tasks with commendable diligence, helped out by ever-willing wide runners Sadie Day and Emily Bashford.
Halfway through the first period Teddington started to impose themselves when Emily C sent a lovely clipped through-ball for Emily B, who forced the goalkeeper into conceding the corner. Before that set-piece could be taken Ella Waldron and Phoebe Head came on (for Amy and Sadie) to ask some different questions, a process continued soon after when Millie MacEacharn and Ella Bothamley replaced Bash and Ale Fairn respectively.
The fresh legs rejuvenated the home side and helped create a more flowing end-to-end game, with Jelly and Emily C linking particularly promisingly in midfield and Phoebe a typically constant threat on the ball. Indeed, the top scorer led a counter-attack from a Fleet corner, driving most of the way up the right flank to force a throw 10 yards from the byeline; Boz met Phoebe’s flick-on with an attempt that beat the goalkeeper but was just about scrambled off the goal-line.
After the break, Teddington continued to create ever more promising chances. Jelly’s measured daisy-clipper reached Boz but so did the goalkeeper, whose half-clearance couldn’t quite be turned home by Phoebe.
Teddington were getting on top and now created four good chances in six minutes. Twelve minutes into the half, Emily C was bundled over on the edge of the box and Boz’s fierce rising shot was parried, with a disappointing lack of Teddingtonian follow-up.
A minute later, Emily C’s lovely little through-ball broke the Fleet defence, but Boz’s shot rolled agonisingly wide. Three minutes thereafter, EC and Phoebe combined to set up Boz; her shot was blocked, and although Em picked up the rebound and sidestepped a defender to fire in again, her own attempt was cleared by a relieved Fleet defence.
Emily was to be denied again two minutes later, when the second corner in quick succession found her unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box, but the No.99 couldn’t quite keep her header under the crossbar.
Out wide on the left, Macca suddenly realised she had the beating of the right-back and took her on so frequently that the Fleet girl must have been delighted to see Macca substituted. Sadly for her, Bash set about doing exactly the same. Set free by a delicious ball from Amy – on for the tiring Carla – Bash streaked away from the stunned defender, knocked it past the goalkeeper and watched it hit the post… before hitting it herself in a desperate attempt to bundle the rebound home.
As the game entered the last 10 minutes, the excitement ratcheted up. Phoebe hit the byline and pulled it back across an empty six-yard line to gasps from all concerned. Fleet were by no means out of the game and almost scored from a corner, hitting the post before Sas calmly tidied up.
But with less than five minutes to go, it was Teddington who broke the deadlock. Attacking down the right, the home side worked the ball to Boz, on the edge of the area in the inside-right zone; with commendable vision, calmness and accuracy, she noticed the big gap on the far side of the goal and steered home with the outside of her right boot.
Fleet couldn’t believe their luck, but it got worse in the final minute when they hit the bar. Even so, Teddington almost had the last word as the game ticked into injury time, Phoebe picking out late sub Ale and Bash in the middle although neither could quite turn it in.
A fourth successive draw between these teams would not have been a travesty. But Teddington weathered the early storm, imposed themselves, then stood fast for only their second-ever 1-0 win. The previous victims of that scoreline, Abbey Rangers, beat Maidenhead 3-0 to maintain their 100% start; that result also means Teddington are only three points behind the fourth-placed Berkshire side. After their first league victory in three stop-start months, Teddington can once more look up the table and wonder.
TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC Ruby Rudkin, Anna Kauffmann, Millie Theobald, Saskia Brewster, Amy Hallett, Liz Kriebel, Emily Coulson, Carla Novakovic, Sadie Day, Emily Bashford, Ale Fairn. Subs Ella Waldron, Phoebe Head, Millie MacEacharn, Ella Bothamley (1).
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