PREVIOUS GAMES Oct 2014: W 2-0 (A) • Mar 2015: D 3-3 (H) • Apr 2015: D 2-2 (A) • Dec 2015: D 1-1 (H) • Jan 2016: W 1-0 (H) • Feb 2016: W 3-2 (A)
Teddington started with just the one change. Ella Bothamley being unavailable, Sadie Day was pushing for a start before succumbing to a cold; in stepped Millie MacEacharn, who has been training well. With Ale Fairn suffering back problems, Amy Hallett and Emily Bashford were the only subs.
Typically, it started with the sides trading blows, metaphorically at least. Visiting supporters were dismayed by a third-minute offside flag, although the linesman insisted the Fleet forward had been off before she ran back into an onside position.
While claim and counter-claim flew across the pitch, centre-back Hannah Hutchison calmly placed the ball down 30 yards from her goal and hoisted the free-kick goalwards; after one bounce, it was pounced upon by her fellow new girl Giulia Clini, who rifled home her first Teddington Athletic goal.
Sadly, and tone-settingly, the lead wasn’t to last. Within two minutes Fleet levelled when the forward received a simple throw-in, turned the defence far too easily and finished confidently under Ruby Rudkin.
A minute later they could have gone in front. Operating on the left of a front three, the speedy No.11 easily turned insider Teddington right-back Anna Kauffmann on the halfway line and streaked clear, only to miss the chance.
The home side responded with a tweak, swapping holding midfielders Carla Novakovic and Liz Kriebel so that athletic captain Carla could help ‘Coffee’ with the pacy flanker, while Liz could continue a burgeoning creative relationship on the left with Emily Coulson.
Before they could act upon any idea of going in front, Teddington again almost went behind when a simple diagonal cut out the the centre-backs. But then Liz came to the fore, first linking with Em and driving to the corner of the area to drag a shot just wide of the near post, before an altogether more ambitious 30-yard effort was gobbled up by the goalkeeper.
Teddington were starting to look good with the ball. Em flicked the ball beautifully over one defender, only to be blocked off by the next; Carla had a strong attempt from distance; then Giulia tried a vertical daisycutter down the channel but front-runner Ella Dodd was just beaten to it by the goalkeeper.
While creating chances, the home side were also getting in amid the muck and bullets. The strong No.14 at centre-forward has often bullied Teddington’s defence but Hutch was unafraid to get physical, the ex-Wimbledon player being made of strong stuff.
She is also, like many of her new team-mates, adaptable. So when Fleet changed their formation after 20 minutes – their players having complained to their manager that they were outnumbered in midfield – Teddington were able to tweak to fit. Morphing from their starting 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 moved Fleet’s fast winger to centre-forward; accordingly, Coffee and Hutch switched, with the Danish girl initially wondering what she had done wrong until it was pointed out to her that she had been moved into the middle precisely to keep an eye on her opponent.
The rest of the defence were doing their bit, too. When the No.14 outmuscled Millie Theobald to break clear, she found her way barred by a combination of the covering Saskia Brewster and the outrushing Ruby. A minute later, as the offside flag stayed down despite howling appeals from the home coaches, Ruby again hared off her line and forced an early, off-target shot.
Inefficient chance conversion had been a bugbear of Teddington’s first two games, but the special shooting practice paid off just after the half-hour – in style. Despite being forced wide, Doddsy had the confidence and ability to hammer the ball high into the roof of the net for only her second goal of 2016. It wouldn’t be her last.
Teddington brought on Bash for Macca, but before the sub could get a touch the home side had again surrendered the initiative. Again it was Fleet thinking quicker on their feet, reacting first to a bouncing ball and equalising.
But on this occasion it only took three minutes for Teddington to edge in front again. This one came from Liz channeling down to the corner, crossing it in, and Doddsy confidently sweeping the ball under the goalkeeper from seven yards, low, hard and accurate.
At half-time, bringing on Amy allowed Liz a breather but Teddington were very much in the ascendant, with the front four linking well. A Bash turn demolished the left-back, and the shy winger’s shot on the diagonal was only parried to Doddsy, who seemed certain to complete her hat-trick but could only knock it over with a rueful grin.
A minute later, Fleet got as far as Amy, who battled back possession and released a diag for Em to collect on the left; beating the offside trap, she pulled back towards Doddsy and when the centre-forward couldn’t quite collect, Giulia recycled to a marginally offside Bash.
Teddington were pulling Fleet hither and yon. Bash flew down the right and fed Doddsy, who reset for Giulia to flick wide to Em. The front four were fluid and dangerous, augmented by willing support from Amy, Carla and the increasingly adventurous Sas.
But the home side didn’t convert the advantage into a two-goal lead which might have made the game safe. Instead, 12 minutes into the half, they switched off again and Fleet played the No.11 through to finish under Ruby.
Again, Teddington didn’t learn and were almost doubly punished when the No.11 flew through again, only to be stopped by Ruby racing off her line. Her sidekick the strong No.14 was soon out of the game, though: going shoulder-to-shoulder in the box with Carla, she was simply outmuscled by the captain and left in a heap before wincing off the field. She may not be the tallest, but you won’t find Carla wanting for guts and determination.
With 15 minutes to go, Giulia had been replaced by Liz, operating in a more advanced role than earlier in the game. Drifting around to find opportunities, the American soon cut in from the left and forced the goalkeeper into a save.
Still the chances came at either end. Millie T dug back to deny the No.11, feeding Sas to steam clear and work the ball via Em to Doddsy, who clipped it through but Bash was denied by the keeper. Four minutes from time, a Fleet cross from the right was met at speed on the full by the No.11, who was unlucky to see the shot sizzle wide. With 90 seconds left, Liz and Bash combined for Doddsy to clip the outside of the post, before Doddsy returned the favour only for Bash to be denied by a superb block tackle from the No.17.
Even in injury time, either side could have won. Sas burst up the left and fed Liz, whose shot from 25 yards arrowed just past the far corner. Within seconds Fleet had lifted the ball over the Teddington defence one last time; with Ruby for once frozen to her line, the striker pulled the shot wide and a pulsating game was over.
For Teddington there were mixed feelings. The shooting practice worked, with a bristling brace from Doddsy and a maiden strike from Giulia, but lapses of concentration thrice let Fleet back in. The home side had stood up to Fleet’s physicality in a more impressive manner than on many previous occasions, but they had again let points slip.
Fleet have improved – having put four past Carshalton, they are more free-scoring than last term – but so have Teddington. This was a game the home side could previously have lost, but they are beginning to get the steel to go with their style.
TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC Ruby Rudkin; Anna Kauffmann, Hannah Hutchison, Millie Theobald, Saskia Brewster, Liz Kriebel, Carla Novakovic, Millie MacEacharn, Giulia Clini (1), Emily Coulson, Ella Dodd (2). Subs: Amy Hallett, Emily Bashford.
Bondy's notes from the match
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