Sun 8 Jan: Fleet Town (H) W 4-0

January can be the graveyard of good intentions. The first month of the calendar year is traditionally the time of hard promises easily made, when people pledge to make themselves better before inexorably slipping back into old ways.

Football teams have it somewhat different. January is not the beginning of the campaign but its midpoint: a crucial fulcrum upon which can rest the trajectory for the second half of the season. A poor January can start a slide into insignificance; a good one can send the team to new heights.

Having ended 2016 with four games unbeaten, Teddington Athletic face four successive challenges to start 2017, three of them at Udney Park. First fourth-placed Fleet Town, then third-placed Abbey Rangers, each opponent overtakable with a win. Abbey will return on January’s final Sunday for the Surrey Cup semi-final, after Dave Waldron’s side travel to Crystal Palace for the sort of game that might trip up any side who treat it with overconfidence. (It’s happened to Teddington before, including at Palace.)

Thankfully, three weeks after beating Palace in the “game of three halves”, Teddington returned to action like a side looking upward rather than down. The absence of Millie Theobald (jet-lagged from a jaunt to Japan) might have necessitated some juggling, but instead of shuffling several players around, the management went for simplicity with a straight swap, replacing Millie with Amy Hallett.

The squad’s youngest player responded with raised eyebrows and genuine surprise, but it’s notable that none of her team-mates were worried. Amy reads the game like a 30-year-old and what she lacks in stature she makes up for in determination. She had never started a game at centre-back, but she’s filled in there before and played in every other outfield position; she has also been a key part of the ongoing training routines bringing a welcome shape and organisation to the back line.

Amy slotted comfortably in to a back four staffed with girls who are increasingly happy to communicate with each other. As usual, Hannah Hutchison was dominant in defence, while full-backs Saskia Brewster and Anna Kauffmann mixed defensive diligence with increasingly creative attacking play.

It helped that the home side went ahead within five minutes, Ella Dodd’s shot from distance arcing beautifully over the goalkeeper for the team’s 300th goal in competitive football. Teddington and Fleet have switched leads many times before but there was a smooth assurance to the way the home side started.

Doddsy settled into leading the line, while behind her Giulia Clini continued where she left off in the cup quarter-final at Fleet, controlling the game with a combination of physical presence and football intelligence exemplified when she extended the lead on the quarter-hour. Teddington having won the ball in midfield, Liz Kriebel’s diagonal sent Ella Bothamley tearing in from the right wing; the full-back gamely tracked her but also inadvertently interfered with her goalkeeper’s clearance, which dropped to Giulia 25 yards out – and her quick, calm lob was too strong for the keeper to collect.

Teddington weren’t flattered by the two-goal cushion, which might have arrived sooner. Having been inches from connecting with a dangerous Boz corner, Emily Coulson took a more relaxed approach to her next chance, flicking up and volleying just wide of the far post; a minute later that same post was narrowly missed by Boz’s wafted shot from the angle as Giulia and Liz directed traffic, pinning the visitors into their own third.

Having waited 10 dominant minutes to double their lead, Teddington took just three to score again. Even then, they almost scored before that. In the 17th minute Doddsy’s lay-off set up Boz – searching for her fourth goal in her last four games – to send one arrowing toward the top corner; the goalkeeper did well to push the shot onto the angle of post and bar and was delighted to catch the rebound ahead of the lurking Doddsy.

The reprieve lasted barely 60 seconds as Boz hit the byline and pulled back for the unmarked Doddsy to sidefoot home her second of the morning, her sixth in four games and her 10th of the season. And for that, this reporter will forgive her part in stealing the chocolates he was supposed to be given for Christmas (suspected criminal ring-leader: Carla Novakovic).

Let it not be assumed that Fleet were dormant. Even after going 3-0 down they served immediate notice of their ability by breaking through the Teddington back line and shooting into Ruby Rudkin’s side-netting. But Teddington’s offside trap was working well, and even when it didn’t, the defence dug back to deal with it: within three minutes each of Amy, Hannah and Anna took it in turns to break up attacks by getting back and getting their bodies in the way. 

Such was the home side’s spirit that Fleet couldn’t find space anywhere. As the visitors lined up to take a throw, the taker exasperatedly shouted “Girls, MOVE” – but Teddington were everywhere, shutting the visitors down.

They were also pretty handy with the ball, too, and weren’t settlng for 3-0. One passing move flowed through Emily and Giulia to Liz, who dropped her shoulder to find space for a 25-yard shot the keeper did well to save.

That was the American’s last involvement before gasping off the pitch just beyond the half-hour, admitting she’s out of shape but noting that she had “assisted the assist” for each of the three goals. On came Millie MacEacharn, quickly followed by Emily Bashford and Ale Fairn for Boz and Doddsy, but not before the latter had flashed a header just wide from a Giulia free-kick.

Giulia was involved again in the fourth and final goal, 12 minutes into the second half. It exemplified the various parts of the team doing their jobs with verve and determination. Firstly, in the muck and bullets of the centre circle, Carla dug in to win the ball. She quickly found Giulia, who drove toward the heart of the Fleet defence, then cleverly slipped in Ale, who ran through on goal and calmly clipped past the goalkeeper with the outside of her right foot.

Having bagged the vital equaliser in Hampshire, Fleet-frightening forward Fairn has now scored two in three games after her desperate run of one in the previous 18. Form is temporary but class is permanent, and Ale has shown a very welcome return to the levels she has more often demonstrated over her four seasons at the club: this was her 27th goal in 56 career appearances, drawing her back level in the all-time scoring charts with Doddsy. Having two strikers in goalscoring form is no bad thing, especially with the creative department bubbling behind them: in the last three home games Teddington have piled up 14 goals from seven different players.

The defence do their job, too. On 55 minutes a ball over the top of the Teddington backline held up on the sticky pitch, but Ruby sprinted out of her area and did enough to put the striker off. There were many examples of this: not necessarily cleanly winning tackles or duels but doing enough to make sure the opponent didn’t, either. It’s a happy habit to have.

Fleet played a noticeably higher line in the second half, trying to compress the play, but that merely created space behind for Teddington’s faster players to exploit. On the hour Saskia joined in, bursting down the left wing and cutting inside for a solid shot well saved by the goalkeeper. Like her fellow defenders Millie, Hannah and Anna, Sas is still awaiting her first-ever Teddington goal but it will surely come if her overloads add to the attacking array.

Also tearing into space, on the other side, was Bash. Two minutes after Sas’s chance the flying winger hunted down her left-back, dispossessed her on the byline and wriggled into the box; having created the chance herself, she was entitled to ignore the well-placed Ale and Macca and shoot for the near top corner, which she was within a foot of finding.

Still Teddington’s rearguard kept their concentration. When another ball over the top tempted Ruby out of her box but the striker got there first to poke it past her, a consolation goal seemed inevitable – but Hutch continued to pelt back and cover the goal-line, while Ruby did a sharp 180-degree turn and hared back home. To good effect: the striker’s touch had forced her wide, and by the time she got her shot off Ruby was able to smother. By such means were Teddington able to keep their first clean sheet in nine games, and their first in 13 attempts against teams who habitually win more than they lose.

By now the subs were itching to get back on, but the coaches were struggling to select players to sacrifice. Ale was visibly buzzing up top; Giulia was at the hub of every move; Bash was continuing her campaign of terrorising full-backs; Emily and Carla combined minding the shop with starting the moves. And out on the left, Macca was displaying some of the most confident touches of her career – first calmly chesting the ball to a teammate Ronaldinho-style, then executing a stupendous back-heel down the line to Saskia behind her.

As it was, Liz replaced Emily, who had played well in two positions; Doddsy came on for Giulia, playing behind a resurgent Ale; and Macca enjoyed a fully-deserved round of applause almost as much as she enjoyed her replacement Boz jokingly refusing to shake her hand on the way off.
Boz it was who almost had the final word, racing in from the left to a lovely Bash dink over the top but firing just wide of the far stick. Boz would end the game without a goal – only the second time in six that’s happened – but she had contributed fully with two assists, and she will doubtless be looking to strike next week against Abbey.

Such is the streak running through Teddington at the moment. Each girl has individual reasons to prosper, and together they have a collective determination to improve. This win took them up into fourth: another against Abbey would take them into third, with the possibility of a cup final to come. If Teddington remain resolute, this could be a New Year to remember.

TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC Ruby Rudkin, Anna Kauffmann, Hannah Hutchison, Amy Hallett, Saskia Brewster, Carla Novakovic, Liz Kriebel, Ella Bothamley, Giulia Clini (1), Emily Coulson, Ella Dodd (2).Subs Ale Fairn (1), Emily Bashford, Millie MacEacharn.
Thanks to Catherine for the pics - more below the table