Sun 2 Oct: Crystal Palace (A) W 4-0

Having won the league by a country mile last season – collecting 60 points from a possible 63, they finished 14 points clear of runners-up Wimbledon – Crystal Palace Reds have decamped to a different league this season. Their sister team Crystal Palace Blues have stayed, dropped the colour from the end of their name… and failed to fulfil any of their first three fixtures. That’s a great shame for their likeable manager Matt Corry, but at least the Palace girls got a match this weekend against Teddington.

Although the game was played in an affable manner, the visitors were in no mood for charity, with several players looking to make the most of their chance. The starting front three were champing at the bit to take their chance: centre-forward Ale Fairn was making her first start of the season, flanked by Sadie Day and Millie MacEacharn, getting their just reward for excellence in training sessions.

With Millie Theobald away – the only absentee in a 15-strong matchday squad, which also meant her dad wasn’t on hand to take the photos – the ever-dependable Amy Hallett continued to display her remarkable versatility and footballing brain by slotting in at centre-back. As ever, Amy was exemplary and her reading of the game fully contributed to the resultant clean sheet. With Teddington otherwise unchanged, a strong bench of Ella, Ella, Emily and Emily – AKA Doddsy, Boz, Bash and Couls – awaited their turn; all would be involved, and all would have a major say in the game.

The starters soon set about their hosts, creating chances they were almost too polite to take. Firstly, Liz Kriebel and Giulia Clini didn’t so much get in each other’s way as mutually abdicate responsibility for shooting, allowing a surprised Palace defender to nip in and clear her lines.

Then Giulia wriggled past a couple of players and was brought down right on the forward edge of the box. While Palace players hung back, perhaps thinking it was a penalty, Teddington calmly waited for them to file back into position before Giulia lifted the shot towards the top corner; the goalkeeper’s parry was met by Ale, but she could only scoop the ball over the bar. (She later admitted “I can’t believe I missed that,” but if she keeps working hard, she will get more chances to add to her 25 Teddington goals.)

Some match action (I never said I was David Bailey)

Although the visitors were firmly in control, Palace did start to threaten on occasion: one run down the left ended in a cross acrobatically cleared from the six-yard box by Carla Novakovic, with Amy ably assisting.

But most of the action was up the other end. In the 11th minute Sadie put her body on the line to dispossess a defender and force the goalkeeper into a save, the winger suffering a blow to the hip which would eventually curtail her afternoon.

Even when they seemed somewhat shot-shy, Teddington were creating. In command of the No.10 zone despite feeling under the weather, Giulia had the ability to terrify the defence but sometimes sought the long route round; drifting rather than driving, she fed Liz wide on the right in what might have been a blind alley until a brilliant double-touch skill from the American left the full-back for dead. A superbly accurate cross to the back post found Macca, whose technically excellent shot on the half-volley was well saved by a goalkeeper.

On 19 minutes, the ailing Giulia and limping Sadie were replaced by a pair of Emilys, Couls and Bash – and the two were immediately involved in a goal. Sent haring down the inside-right channel by an excellent through-ball, Em C eventually won the foot-race and confidently finished past the goalkeeper into the far side of the net. That was pleasing for Em, who had been politely disappointed to be “benched” with her grandparents watching – but she didn’t hang about once she joined the fray.

Enjoying the freedom afforded to the free position behind the striker, Em turned inside a defender on the left-hand corner of the box and tried a snapshot which worried the goalkeeper; she also roamed down the right and sent a looping cross toward Ale, who fired just wide of the near post. And the centre-forward was quickly back in the action, meatily meeting Bash’s cross with a solid header which found its way back to Bash, who again found Ale for a shot well saved.

Doddsy, awaiting the call to action

That was about the end of it for Ale, who had jarred her problematic back in the course of duty and made way for Doddsy with five minutes to go. By then Emily was causing Palace all sorts of trouble: first reaching a great ball over the top from Liz, nicking it past the onrushing goalkeeper and watching it hit the post; then turning provider with a diagonal for Bash to outmuscle the defender and shoot first-time, only for the goalkeeper to save it again.

At half-time, Bash switched to the left as Boz came on for Macca, and within two minutes the pair combined well to create the second goal. The home side can count themselves unlucky that they lost possession in midfield when the ball bounced unkindly off a Palace heel, but from there it was all Teddington technical solidity. Bash swooped on the loose ball and swept it wide to Boz, who laid through an excellent ball for Em C to calmly finish. It was her 50th TAFC goal, putting her just two behind the all-time club top scorer Phoebe Head, whose record must surely tumble soon.

From there Teddington controlled the second half; on the one occasion Palace broke through the visitors’ backline, the underemployed goalkeeper Ruby Rudkin was alertly off her line to worry the striker and negate the danger.

Shortly after that isolated threat, the visitors sealed the victory with their third goal just before the hour. Em C won the ball in midfield and bowled a vertical between defenders, Boz outmuscling Palace to lash past the goalkeeper. Something of a milestone for Boz, too: her 10th for the club takes her level with Ella Waldron and past the opponents who have combined to provide nine own-goals.

Within five minutes, 3-0 became 4-0 with what wasn’t exactly a memorable goal, but they all count. Something of an up-and-under caused all manner of fun in the Palace box – Boz almost forced it home with her face, which presumably wasn’t quite the plan, before Doddsy stopped the nonsense by hammering home from seven yards. Again, it was a landmark for the centre-forward, her 20th for the club; she’s started the season in promising form and if she throws her weight around a bit more up front, she may very quickly get to 30 and beyond.

By now, Giulia had recovered enough to be kicking a ball around on the sidelines, so she was given the last 16 minutes to do something rather more productive, Bash making way and Em C reverting to the left. And Giulia almost made it five late on, forcing the goalkeeper into a sprawling save after being set up intelligently by the alert Boz.

For all the goals – and milestones – it’s a team game, and the girls at the back can take credit for competently keeping their second clean sheet in three games, eliminating the concentration errors that had cost them against Fleet.

Throughout the game, Anna Kauffmann dug back well with her left-wing foe; Hannah Hutchison comfortably dealt with any trouble in the middle (and confidently sent a few free-kicks into the danger zone); and Saskia Brewster kept the right-winger quieter than a church mouse with laryngitis. And on the one occasion the flanker got past her, after 69 frustrating minutes, across zoomed Amy to brilliantly cover her mate and remove the danger.

The team’s youngest player, Amy has represented Teddington excellently as a centre-forward, winger, midfielder, holding midfielder, full-back and now centre-back. The latter was probably only as a stop-gap but it is to her enormous credit that she neither complains nor struggles when given a new position.

Like several of her flexible friends, Amy is given different roles by her trusting coaches, who want to equip their girls with the ability to play in various positions. Some sides simply place the big girls at the back and tell them to hoof it forward to the quick girls at the front. That’s not the way with Teddington, who want to give their players a lifelong skill-set rather than capitalise on fleeting physical superiority.

It’s a pleasant byproduct of that when players can simply slot into different roles. With six minutes to go, Amy felt a twinge in her ankle and was withdrawn; her place in the back-line was taken by Carla, another who has played in every outfield position, with Macca coming on for some experience in the holding role.

The girls may need that flexibility and diligence in their next fixture. Averaging north of six goals per game, AFC Wimbledon are five points clear of Teddington. For that gap to be reduced will require diligent defence, incisive attack and a whole load of hard work. It’s to Teddington’s credit that it’s a viable possibility.

TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC Ruby Rudkin, Anna Kauffmann, Hannah Hutchison, Amy Hallett, Saskia Brewster, Liz Kriebel, Carla Novakovic, Sadie Day, Giulia Clini, Millie MacEacharn, Ale Fairn. Subs Emily Coulson (2), Emily Bashford, Ella Dodd (1), Ella Bothamley (1).

Bondy's notes from Palace

Thank you to everyone who made the slow drive to Palace – think we hit every red light. Coming home with a win and three points made for a much more enjoyable journey home.

We take the three points
This wasn’t our must exciting performance; at times we looked a bit flat and didn't really get out of second gear. We didn't have to – we looked in complete control without the level of tempo and energy that we have played previous, although not for a lack of effort. The afternoon kick-off, the slow drive in traffic, Ale’s back not being 100% and players coming down with the flu… understandably we weren’t going to be at our best. That's football – you have games where you won’t be at your best – but it’s very important we don’t have too many. You can’t win a championship or competition and be at your best all the time, but still, winning the games is very important.

Emily hits the big five-oh
Emily C has scored 50 goals for Teddington Athletic – a remarkable achievement. Em works super-hard in training, her preparation for games is excellent. On this occasion Emily started as a substitute; she said to me “My grandparents are here and I’m on the bench” – in good banter, of course – but came off the bench to score her goals.
Em got her goal not long after coming on, and her Nan and Grandad were able to see her score a very special goal to reach 50. Emily loves a high-five so that’s how we celebrated at half-time.

Super Sunday
On Sunday we travel to AFC Wimbledon. I'm calling it Super Sunday because it's two very good teams going head-to-head. We know Wimbledon are scoring goals, and I admit we are going to have to be at our very best. Because we’re such a good team, we will have chances – taking them becomes even more important. We also know we have to be very organised in defence.
There comes a time when everything you have worked on in training – our structure and philosophies like the five key elements – have to come together; for me, it's Super Sunday. I'm looking forward to seeing two very good teams. I have so much pride and confidence in the players I know they want to win on Sunday as much as ever.

We regroup on Friday 
We will work hard on Friday and prepare the best way we can. The players know they are extremely talented footballers and athletes who can beat any side we play.

Supporters
Be our 12th player this Sunday: travel in your numbers to cheer our girls on loud and proud. #WeAreTeddingtonAthletic

– Bondy

Sun 25 Sep: Fleet Town (H) D 3-3

Fleet Town have always been awkward opposition for Teddington Athletic. The Hampshire outfit work incredibly hard, get stuck in and have a couple of dangerous players; as a result, they have been difficult opposition on all seven occasions the teams have clashed. This latest draw is the fourth time the teams have been tied.

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

Bondy's notes from Fleet

We just keep improving and our performances are proof of that. No one can tell me any different: we have the hardest-working team in the league, the best group of girls. There is not a manager or coach that has a group of players with the commitment, passion, desire and willingness to learn more than this team. We have the best group of players in the league; it's up to us to make the league table prove that point.

A hard-earned point
We were very aware Sunday's game was going to be hard. Feet Town are a physical team with lots of pace. To get anything from Sunday's game we had to dig deep and match Fleet physically. We did that for 83 minutes. I felt we competed all over the pitch. We have very strong players in the side that can bully any team, we have players that can turn defences inside out with their skill and beat anyone, and we have players with their pace that can terrify defenders. The players have started to realise their full potential. We are starting to see the natural brilliant potential our players have in abundance.

The hard work is paying off 
What is unique about our girls they all set very high standards. Gary’s mantra “Do the next thing right" has become very important we have a set of players that want to do the right thing get very disappointed when they don't get things right. To see the hard work in training come off in a live game is truly incredible. We want to play football; we want to disorganise an organised defence with our creative passing and movement. I really hope you can see and appreciate the hard work the girls are putting into their football. I hope you can see what type of football we are looking to play.

Canada geese: The V formation
Before the game I got the girls to stand in a V-shape, a formation Canada geese use to fly hundreds of miles per day. The birds can only reach their destination if they keep to the formation, keep to their responsibility as individuals and as a unit. We’re not asking the girls to fly hundreds of miles, we’re asking them for 80 minutes. 
Our players have five key elements to follow: Trust, Collective Responsible, Communication, Care and Pride. The geese have their formation, we have ours, each player with a job to do. For a team to reach their destination, they need everyone to work together. That is exactly what we are doing. We just haven't got our reward yet. There’s going to be a game where it all comes together and once that happens there will be no stopping us. The five key elements of a massive part of our training structure, preparation for game day and in game time.

Just reward
You can tell a lot from a player’s reaction how much they care for the team. Last week against Carshalton, Doddsy was frustrated with herself and felt she could have done better. Doddsy’s determination to get goals was seen in training; her commitment to improve and work resulted in two very good goals, the first being a special goal. I didn't say anything to Doddsy but I know she was going to score. In training and in the warm-up she was striking the ball beatifully. I’m so pleased for Doddsy, it's proof that hard work is key to performance and performance is key to success. Shows our structure and philosophy is working.
Congratulations also to Guilia for her first goal for Teddington Athletic. You could tell from the way the girls celebrated Guilia and Doddsy’s goals that the players know how much it meant to both girls. 

Proud
I’m extremely proud of the players. My two best days of week are easily Friday and Sunday. We all work hard and need something to look forward to; seeing and coaching these remarkably people, I am very fortunate. It turns out these remarkably people are also very gifted footballers. 

– Bondy

MATCH REPORT

Sun 18 Sep: Carshalton Athletic (H) W 2-0

After the opening Sunday’s loss in the familiar surroundings of Abbey Rangers’ Addlestone home, Teddington Athletic’s girls turned out for their first competitive game at what will hopefully become their permanent home of Udney Park. Hard-sought and hard-won, the former Imperial College playing fields represent a fine place to play football. Could the girls do it justice?

They were seeking to end their first-ever run of three consecutive defeats, the Abbey reverse following two season-closing losses against AFC Wimbledon. The opponents were Carshalton Athletic – newly promoted, but having suffered an opening defeat 4-2 at Fleet.

Teddington’s starting XI was set to be the same as last week, with Ella Dodd edging out Ale Fairn up top while Amy Hallett and Sadie Day – absent at Abbey, but in for the unavailable Emily Bashford and Millie MacEacharn – watched the new system from the bench.

Such plans were tweaked by necessity when Saskia Brewster, the steadfast full-back whose probing overlaps had done so much to unsettle Abbey, felt ill during the warm-up. While Sas sat and recovered (apparently by covering herself with every training jacket in the postcode), captain Carla Novakovic – who had also exemplified the demands of a tweaked role last week, in her case as a holding midfielder – switched to left-back, with Amy slipping back in to the holding role she played so well in last season.

As it turned out, though, Carla only lasted a minute at left-back before Teddington switched again. Having started the match with only 10 players, Carshalton were playing a 4-4-1 – so the home side sought to maximise the numerical advantage, operating with just three defenders while the midfielders pushed on, with Amy the sole holding midfielder.

Even before that switch, Teddington had had a chance, with Doddsy scooting a good through-ball along the floor for Ella Bothamley, cutting in from the right. Boz beat the defender but pulled her shot across goal and just wide of the far post.

It took just over five minutes for Teddington to break the deadlock. Giulia Clini had shown great promise in attacking midfield at Abbey, and here she glided confidently across the edge of the area before feeding Emily Coulson. Her shot was fumbled over the line by the stand-in goalkeeper, leading the shy Em to declare at half-time that the goal “doesn’t count”. Wrong, Em: it does, just like the previous 46 goals she’d scored for the club. Some of us count them, literally.

For the next 10 minutes the home side utterly dominated possession but didn’t create enough clear chances against a hard-working Carshalton team, who then threw down a warning when their sole striker wriggled past the entire defence of Anna Kauffmann, Hannah Hutchison and Millie Theobald to force a save from Ruby Rudkin.

Teddington responded immediately with a strong passage of play. From a throw-in on the left in the attacking third, the initial move broke down but Carla tracked back and recycled via Millie T, cleverly positioned to receive the pass and lay a first-time ball up the line for Em. After a one-two with Liz Kriebel, Em drove to bye-line, cut inside, beat a couple of players and laid off to Liz, who took a touch and shot just over.

More chances came and went. A Liz long-ranger bounced off the goalkeeper towards Doddsy, but the scrambling defence forced the corner; then when Boz fired across the face of goal, the keeper just about managed to kick clear with Em ready to sweep in her second.

Just before the half-hour, Carshalton made their second foray into Teddington’s penalty area with a cross from the left which Ruby caught and bowled straight to Liz, who promptly accelerated down the inside-left channel. Her superbly-weighted vertical daisycutter sent Em through to cross for Doddsy, but her shot was saved by the goalkeeper’s stuck-out leg.

Whether by hesitancy or bad luck, the home side weren’t making the most of their superiority, and the arrival of Carshalton’s 11th player buoyed up the visitors, who could now see a dramatic narrative twist. Suddenly Teddington were wobbling: from their own goal kick, Millie was dispossessed and Ruby had to deal with the shot.

On came Ale and Sadie for Doddsy and Boz, and Teddington continued to create chances. Carla shot from 20 yards after Liz had done well down the left, then more good possession ended with Em steering the ball toward the top-right corner, only to see it float agonisingly wide.

Teddington were also looking dangerous from set-plays. Blessed with superb crossing ability, Boz has understandably taken most of the corners; however, Liz also takes a fine flag-kick, so at Dale’s suggestion (largely to get Boz’s striking abilities involved in the penalty area) Liz started taking the corners.

And what corners. Three minutes before half-time, one from the left whistled across the six-yard box and just wide of the far post after what seemed to be the faintest of headers from Giulia (although at half-time she said she hadn’t touched it). A minute later, one from the right drifted through the danger zone and out the other side; coming out to collect it, Em had Amy as an option inside her but instead beat her defender and delivered an excellent left-foot cross, which evaded Ale before Sadie steered it just past the back stick.

Despite Teddington reverting to a back four – albeit with just Amy holding, Liz having a turn on the left and Em more central – Carshalton started the second half the stronger side. A Carshalton ball over the top turned the Teddington defence but Millie managed to recover in time to block the shot wide, then a cross from the right required Ruby to race off her line and bother the centre-forward.

Still, Teddington were creating chances. Ten minutes in, Em cut inside and shot across goal. Soon after, Hutch knocked a free-kick into the box, but neither Em nor Liz could convert the chance. Then more good work on the left from Em created a chance for Boz – back on for Sadie, who’d eventually succumbed to the ankle injury she’d bravely earned during a strong block tackle – to shoot from the right; the effort was just about smothered with Ale lurking.

But with the score still 1-0, Carshalton still carried a threat. On the hour, Tia Searle, one of twins playing down the left, broke through on goal – but Ruby stood big to pull off a vital save. Had that gone in, Teddington may have collapsed, and a revitalised Carshalton may have completed a smash-and-grab against the run of play. (Asked to describe a match she had mostly spent as a spectator, Ruby said it was “well boring”.)

Teddington made more changes, with Doddsy returning for Ale, while the fully recuperated Saskia replaced the tiring Amy: Carla moved into holding midfield, swiftly joined by Liz as the home side – seeking to both extend and defend their slender lead – reverted to the default formation.

Sas had an immediate effect, and Teddington should have gone 2-0 up. Motoring down the left and combining well with Carla just inside her; Sas delivered a cross which missed the first defender and found Liz in a glorious position 10 yards out – but the American steered just wide of the far corner. Then a Giulia drive from edge of box was scrambled wide by the goalkeeper. Cue another gorgeous Liz corner from right; Boz got a head on it, Emily pulled it back from the left but Giulia’s first-time left-footer from the edge of the box scudded just wide.

By the 67th minute this had become the kind of end-to-end game which neutrals love and managers fear. A dangerous Carshalton through-ball was mopped up by Ruby, who laid it out for Liz to produce a good through-ball for Boz. Attended all the way by the left-back, Boz kept going to the byeline and pulled back for Doddsy, who got underneath her shot at the end of a lightning counter-attack, with Emily also sprinting through to be available at the far post.

And it was a similar passage of play which finally created Teddington’s second, with seven minutes to go and an apparent eternity after their first. As Carshalton passed through midfield, commanding Carla nipped in front of her opponent to intercept – but instead of just hitting the ball, she cleverly curled it down the wing, one of those instantaneous decisions that comes with fitness and awareness and can turn defence into attack within a split-second. Rarely slow to accept an invitation, Boz raced onto it and pulled it back for Emily to calmly tuck home.

The killer goal created an audible rush of air around the pitch: the home side relaxed, while the brave visitors finally acknowledged their fate. It was music to a football lover’s ears to hear both sets of players (let alone coaches) saying “get the ball on the floor”. A very pleasant bunch of footballers, coaches and parents, Carshalton are a welcome addition to the top flight.

How well Teddington do in that division this season may yet come down to how efficient they become. Even more so than at Abbey, they had majority possession of the football and frequently demonstrated excellent movement and awareness with it. However, as at Abbey, they wasted an almost comical number of chances – and in doing so, almost let their opponents take advantage again.

They will need to be sharper in the next home game, another 9.30am Udney Park kick-off against Fleet. Having beaten Carshalton on the opening Sunday, the Hampshire side were inactive this week as Crystal Palace again succumbed to a default walkover, raising questions as to their ongoing participation.

Elsewhere, Maidenhead cruised to a 5-2 home win over Abbey, while newcomes Hampton Youth were crushed 10-2 at home by title favourites AFC Wimbledon. Good teams lurk in this division; if Teddington are to truly become one of them, they need to keep being diligent without the ball – and become clinical with it.

TEDDINGTON ATHLETIC: Ruby Rudkin, Anna Kauffmann, Hannah Hutchison, Millie Theobald, Carla Novakovic, Amy Hallett, Liz Kriebel, Ella Bothamley, Giulia Clini, Emily Coulson (2), Ella Dodd. Subs: Ale Fairn, Sadie Day, Saskia Brewster.