Lightning fail to ruffle Eagles' feathers

Defeat can be a bitter pill to swallow. But just like a pill it can make you better, stronger and ultimately more powerful. The action on the pitch may not have gone Teddington Lightning’s way today but make no mistake, the boys played the game with their usual spirit, endeavour and tenacity. Sometimes it is simply impossible to reach your goal, but as Captain Robert Falcon Scott once said “Fortune would be in a hard mood indeed if it allowed such a combination of knowledge, experience, ability, and enthusiasm to achieve nothing.”

Whilst last week had given us an enticing taste of the onset of spring, today in Bushy Park the winter had returned. A grey canopy of cloud hung low and a cold and blustery north wind blew, but as always there was hope in the hearts of the Teddington faithful and players alike. The last outing for Lightning against Merstham Eagles had ended in a nail-biting 4-4 draw so this was set to be another hard fought encounter.

Lightning lined up in their tried and tested 3-2-2-1 formation with Samuel between the sticks, George at centre back with Ray on his right and James on the left. Enrique and Louis took up their midfield playmaker roles with Joseph and Sam the wing forwards and Luke the lone striker.
As soon as the whistle for the start of the game blew, the Eagles flew forward, putting Lightning under immediate pressure. An early speculative shot from Merstham ballooned into Row Z and Luke nearly got an early break back as he battled his way through the defence, despite being towered over by an alarmingly enormous Eagles’ right back, but agonisingly his shot went wide.

As the game continued, the deadlock was palpable. Sam and Joseph fought hard on the wing and despite Louis playing some sweet balls through the Eagle’s back line, Teddington just couldn’t find a way in. A shot from Merstham went wide at one end, and then Enrique fed Luke with a well struck pass, but again the ball went inches wide.

With fifteen minutes played, it felt like something had to happen. With chances at both ends surely someone would find the back of the net? Moses, making his Lightning debut, came on for George and the struggle continued. As a light drizzle began to fall, Teddington fought back, turning the screw on the Eagles’ defence. Luke nearly managed to get through, but it was not to be. Joseph took an excellent shot from range that was stopped by the Merstham keeper and Louis continued to make promising passes from the midfield that unfortunately no one could quite get on the end of.

As the whistle blew for half time it was a miracle that the score remained goalless. Both teams had had their chances but neither had been able to strike the killer blow. Lightning had fought hard against tough opposition and it felt like we would definitely see some goals in the second half.

Half Time – Teddington Athletic Lightning 0-0 Merstham Eagles

Lightning lined up for the second half unchanged apart from Stanley on for Luke as striker, Daniel at right back and Stefanos in a midfield position. Both sides had had their chances in the first half to size each other up and as the second half began the battle royale resumed. Enrique picked up where he had left off, making some encouraging runs and Daniel put in some important tackles at the back.

But then, disaster. Merstham broke and put one past Samuel to score the first goal of the match. As always, Teddington heads did not drop. They battled away to try to find a way back into the game, but the Eagles had sunk their talons firmly into the match and they weren’t letting go. Another shot rattled the Teddington woodwork, and then another found the back of the net to make it 2-0. Lightning dug deep and won successive corners, but they couldn’t do anything with them. Merstham then broke again and the ball was bundled into the net to bring up their third. This was turning into a tough day at the office for Lightning.

As the clock ticked down, time was running out and the pressure was still very much on the Lightning Lads. But they weren’t giving up without a fight. The ball was desperately cleared off the line on several occasions as they tried to keep themselves in the game and there was a glimmer of hope when Joseph was brought down on the edge of the area, winning a free kick in a dangerous position. Joseph stepped up to take it and struck it well, but unfortunately there was just too much on it.

With three minutes left to go on the clock, the wind was whipping up and hopes of a comeback were fading fast, but the boys kept on fighting. Another clearance off the Teddington goal line was sadly not enough to keep the follow up out of the net as the Eagles chalked up a fourth goal, followed quickly by another break in which they managed to slide one under a diving Samuel and make it five.

By the time the final whistle blew, the Lightning lads had given their all, emerging battered and bruised from what had, until Merstham’s second goal, been a very tight, closely fought encounter. To return to the words of Captain Scott, whilst victory remained out of reach today, many things were achieved. Our band of brothers stood united and battled until the cruel blast of the final whistle sounded. Lessons were learnt and resilience was bolstered. There were no losers on the pitch today, just players.

Full Time – Teddington Athletic Lightning 0-5 Merstham Eagles

Player of the match – Joseph