Sounds like i have missed an awesome game!! but that's ok as I know that the girls will put on a show next week against Abbey Rangers :-))))
The person who invented the word trek ‘ a
long arduous journey similar to slog or hike’ apparently did so after driving
from Teddington to Crystal Palace on a Sunday in February. It was a small
miracle that all the girls were there within 15 minutes of the allotted time.
We arrived to be told that we would be
playing ‘in the stadium’, the site of the 1913 FA Cup Final where over 120,000
watched Aston Villa beat Sunderland 1-0 in a match described at the time as
robust.
Luckily given i) the girls had not brought
boots and ii) the game being played at ‘the stadium’ was in fact the third
round of the women’s FA Cup, the receptionist realized her mistake and we were
sent through the rabbit warren of corridors down to ‘the dome’ - South East London’s
own inverted bouncy castle.
Christelle is not with us so Ed having severely injured his
knee at training on Friday valiantly managed the warm up on the outside astro-turf
before we entered the The Dome. The appointed referee could not make it so Mick
volunteered to officiate. ‘This will be good’ I thought, given that when we
played ‘The Palace’ at Bushy Park, their coach made the referee cry.
Given both teams play in the same colours
it was Teddington who had to wear the bibs. The girls disgust was not hidden as
one by one they pulled out the reflective clothing and the smell as we got to
the bottom of the bag became more and more acrid. Spurred on by Ed’s,” if you
smell that bad the opposition won’t come near you” the game started.
Palace started very much on the front foot,
winning the early battles as our team failed to acclimatize to the over bouncy
pitch and the slightly gloomy conditions. A sign of things to come as Ciara does a mazy run and Elin
forces the goalkeeper to save but it is Crystal Palace’s left winger who beats
two and forces a save from Kathryn. Then the inevitable happens a kick from
hands from the CP goalkeeper reaches the half way line bounces over our
defenders and is latched on by the CP right winger who runs through and score
her 50th goal over the past three seasons.
Spurred on by this and the sight of the CP
full back taking a throw on which bounces back off the light fittings the
Athletic begin to find their feet. Sarah runs, beats three and the goalie
saves. Ciara - “I don’t like playing up front” - then gets the ball on the half
way line beats two and from an acute angle buries the ball past the flailing
keeper GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Issy after a couple of great passes comes
off for Alice and then reveals that she has a really bad back caused by 5 hours
of trampolining the day before.
The CP goalkeeper’s long kicks continue to
cause problems and we are lucky to still be level but Kiera once again gets the
ball and off she goes , beats three and scores again GOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLL. Teddington
up the pace and Elin, Sarah and Charlotje all go close. One of the Palace
defenders is heard to say “we need one more player every time they attack”
And now the defining moments of the game . The
Bouncy ball again , Palace are through
and score………
DISALOOOOOOOWED GOOALLLLLLLL! The linesman (Simon) never saw it , but
the ref Mick did and a knowing nod from the CP Coach meant Mick’s tears were
saved .
Then straight away up to the other end, Elin wins the ball crosses and Charlotje
slots home
3-1and the half time whistle blows
Second half and after pointing out that CP
only had two danger girls and we needed to mark them tightly, we didn’t and
they went through and it was 51 goals for the right winger. 3-2
It now became tense with Elin through, save,
then Charlotje through and save ,
an overhead kick from Sophia. Jennifer wakes up and then plays arguably her
best half this season, winning the ball, beating players and marking the right-winger
out of the game. At last after more Teddington pressure coupled with CP’s
goalie being unable to get her goal kicks further than the edge of the penalty
area , Elin gets the ball and scores a well deserved goal
4-2
Elin like a girl possessed, the relief of
scoring again palpable, runs through shoots and a save, nearly scores from a
corner and then runs through and GOOALLLLLLLL Number 5 .
The match finishes with a great ten minutes
from Sarah who does everything but score , great defence by Hannah Rose and
Alice and an exquisite pass from Sophia.
The whistle blows, a great performance by
the magnificent 10 and no tears from the referee.
On the way home a snack stop for Sophia,
Issy and Jennifer at the Selhurst Park (home of Crystal Palace FC) Sainsburys
is met with
“Do you you play for the Palace” and the answer of
“ NO we play for Teddington and we just
beat them”
Girls of the match. Every one played well
but Ciara in the first half and Elin in the second were outstanding.
You missed a great
game Christelle.
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