The Charge of the Lightning Brigade

The above with apologies to Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson, but then had he been lucky enough to see TAFC Lightning play I’m sure he would have honoured the Lightning Brigade. As we reach the end of another epic season, the boys have given their all to bring us elation, joy, the heartbreak of loss and the thrill of victory in equal measure. But today, there was one final test. One final titanic effort was required to overcome Merstham Eagles and round off the season with a win. And the Lightning lads didn’t disappoint.

As the spring sunshine shone over Merstham recreation ground Lightning lined up in their usual formation. Due to an unfortunate Dodgeball incident the day before Samuel had fallen and gashed his knee, so George was called upon to take up the goalkeeping duties. The defence comprised Ray at right back, Enrique in the middle and James on the left. Sam and Louis made up the midfield contingent with Matthew on the right wing and Joseph on the left. Luke, once again, was the lone striker.

As the game kicked off Teddington showed their class with some composed passing play and some impressive sustained pressure. Louis sent a lovely ball through, but there was no one on the end of it. Sam nearly found a bit of space in midfield but his advance was blocked. Enrique stood strong in defence and George made a good save to prevent the Eagles getting an early goal. At the other end Louis took a lovely free kick in front of goal, but it sailed agonisingly over the bar. Merstham fought back and George was forced to make another important save. Sam dropped back well to assist the defence and then nearly scored from a corner, but his shot was blocked.

At the other end Enrique put in a bit of defending that was worthy of Sergio Ramos himself to prevent the Eagles scoring and subsequently the ball was cleared off the line but the Merstham pressure continued. George made another save and a great ball from Louis just couldn’t find Luke who had delayed his run just too much. But then the Eagles attacked again and managed to sneak one under a diving George, who was slightly discombobulated by the muddy quagmire in front of his goal, to go 1-0 up.

Time to dig deep. Lightning streamed forward, but just couldn’t find the final pass. More breaks ensued with Joseph and Luke and Matthew nearly breaking through on separate occasions. A corner was won and the ball was delivered with aplomb, but Luke, stretching his leg out Lineker-style, just couldn’t make contact. Louis nearly created the equaliser just before the half time whistle blew, but it was not to be. Despite the Eagles goal, Lightning had made good account of themselves in the first half and it certainly didn’t look like the same team that had been beaten 5-0 by Merstham at home a couple of weeks ago. 1-0 down so far, but definitely not out.

Half Time – Merstham Eagles 1-0 Teddington Athletic Lightning

Definitely not out. Lightning exploded into the second half of the game with a venomous intent. With only a minute on the clock, Louis unleased a scorcher of a shot from outside the Merstham area which beat the Eagles keeper and brought up a well-deserved equaliser. Game on!

Enrique, Daniel (on for James) and Ray continued their rock-like defence, and Louis put a beauty of a ball through which Stefanos (on for Luke) nearly put into the net in a carbon copy of the goal that Kevin maintains he did score last week. Joseph delivered a laser-guided pass as Lightning piled on more pressure. Stefanos got another bite of the cherry, but the keeper was equal to it and Louis sent another one wide, but then a lovely team passing move saw Stanley find Joseph who slotted the ball through to Stefanos who confidently banged it into the old onion bag to put Lightning into the lead. Victory was in sight once more.

Ray, having the game of his life, continued to pile into the Merstham attack like a steam train, albeit a steam train with skilful feet, if you can imagine such a thing. Having taken the lead, Lightning began to play some really good football and then Louis broke through the defence and showed some impressive composure to slot it past the keeper and give Lightning a two goal lead.

The fat lady, however, was still in her dressing room. Merstham weren’t going down without a fight. Louis had another shot which was saved and put yet another one wide in search of his hat-trick. But then, against the run of play, the Eagles broke through the Teddington defence and put one past George to bring the score line back to 2-3.

It was going to be a nervy last 10 minutes for the Lightning faithful. Teddington re-applied the pressure and won a free kick in a dangerous area which Stanley stepped up to take. Striking it powerfully he forced the Merstham keeper to tip it onto the crossbar at full stretch. At the other end Enrique continued his Ramos-esque work and Daniel put a sweet ball over the top but there was no one there. Lightning battled away as the Teddington supporters pleaded for the final whistle and thankfully finally it blew. A famous victory had been achieved. A suitable finish to an excellent season. A season that certainly had honoured the Lightning Brigade. Every single player can be proud of their endeavours this season and as the summer break approaches we can look forward to the next with a feeling of excitement and anticipation that this team will continue on its current trajectory – Onwards and Upwards!

Full Time – Merstham Eagles 2-3 Teddington Athletic Lightning

Goals – Louis (31’, 45’) Stefanos (39’)
Players of the match – ‘Steam Train’ Ray and towering presence between the sticks – George.

Season Stats

Golden Boot - ‘Goal Machine’ Luke – 21 goals
Goal of the season – Enrique for his stunning overhead kick
Most Player of the Match awards – Louis and George with four each
Most goals saved – Samuel
Most ‘Trademark Jinking runs’ – Joseph
Most shoelaces tied in normal time – James
Most ‘Salmon-like leaps in the box’ – Enrique
Most persistent requests to be subbed back on – Daniel
Best comeback of the season – Stefanos
Most time on the pitch spent furious – Louis
Best debut of the season – Sam W.
Best dead ball play – Stanley (keep firing in those corners!)
Best technical wizardry – Matthew (we’ll never forget that Cruyff turn!)
Most tenacious defender – ‘Steam train’ Ray
Most shouts of ‘SORRY!’ following a dodgy pass / goal kick - George