Sun 30 Nov: AFC Wimbledon 3-1 Teddington Athletic

A crisp morning on the cusp of December. A first trip to champions Wimbledon. How would second-placed new girls Teddington do?

The challengers lined up with Ella V in goal, with the usual defensive duo of Millie Theobald and Saskia Brewster protected by Carla Novakovic and Ella Dodd, not to mention wide girls Phoebe Head and Sinead Morris. Up top was Ale Fairn, with Emily Coulson dropping off as and when required.

Pre-match nerves were shaken off more easily than sleepiness. The first 10 minutes were very end to end, perhaps slightly shaded by Teddington, whose best chance came when Emily broke down the right, her cross hitting Doddsy in the face and falling to Sinead who nearly scored with Ale in close attendance.

Savvy as well as successful, Wimbledon played with high wingers to stretch the Teddington defence, and although Sinead and Phoebe diligently dug back in to assist their team-mates - nobody in this squad doesn't - it did tire the flying wingers eventually.

Wimbledon's first big chance came from a problem of Teddington's own making. On 13 minutes Millie T's foul throw in the right-back position turned over possession, and the home side quickly took their chance to hurl the ball forward to the big No.12 who found herself clean through with Jelly turning and retreating to the safety of her goalmouth. The stand-in keeper blocked both the shot and the rebound, but it was a let-off.

It didn't last. A minute later Wimbledon sent a long ball over the top for the same centre-forward who, with Jelly on her six-yard line, calmly placed it into the goal.

Teddington don't give up easily, though, and two minutes later almost equalised from a typically team-based build-up. Holding possession 30 yards out and probing for space, the visitors eventually worked it to Emily who played Phoebe in through the inside-right channel, but her goalbound shot was deflected onto the post and wide for a corner.

As is usually the case, Phoebe had looked very capable of breaking through the defence but she tired rapidly, plainly displaying the after-effects of a Saturday night sleepover. She was replaced on 25 minutes by Amy Hallett, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, who immediately dug back in on her old right-wing beat and had her most impressive game in weeks. (Saturday sleepovers have now been banned, or rather those who have them may not be considered for selection.)

Two minutes after entering the fray, Amy chased down and dispossessed the left-back, slipping the ball inside to Emily to dash through that inside-right channel, although neither Sinead nor Ale could reach the cross. Six minutes later, Sinead's left-wing throw 18 yards out found Doddsy, whose pass allowed Emily to fire just wide of the left-hand post.

Teddington ended the half strongly but goalless, and the break brought changes. Ella Parkinson-Mearns came on in defence for the slightly struggling Millie T, while Phoebe returned on the right with Amy switching up top in place of Ale.

The visitors threatened frequently in the first 10 minutes of the half. First, Sinead ghosted in at the far post but sliced a left-foot shot just wide. Then Emily cut in from the right, beat a couple and forced a left-foot shot wide. Then, as if to reassert pedigree, Wimbledon went up the other end and threatened. The game was opening up and another goal seemed inevitable.

It came, to wild celebration, for Teddington, vindicating their hard work off the ball. Penning Wimbledon into their right-back zone by hunting in packs, Amy, Emily and Sinead forced a turnover of possession; Sinead was strong enough to beat the No.10 with whom she'd had a running battle and smart enough to poke it into the far bottom corner. Sinead's sixth of the season, drawing her level with Phoebe as top scorer, was a well-earned reward for all her hard work over the last few weeks.

Cue the cliché of the week: a team is never more vulnerable than when it has just scored. Two minutes later, Wimbledon had the ball in the net but it was disallowed, almost certainly incorrectly as the cross had been pulled back: you can't be offside if you're behind the ball when it's passed. Cue a quiet explanatory word with the linesman, without whose volunteered help these games would not occur.

Within five minutes, a righteously indignant Wimbledon were back in the lead anyway, in the manner they demonstrate better than anybody else in the league: the big vertical to the front-runner. The ball was hoisted over the top, the big No.12 spun Saskia and ran into the gap beyond. Parky came across to cover but was beaten for brawn and as Jelly came out the striker simply nutmegged her. An unarguable goal.

Again, Teddington tried to respond. With the ball at her feet, Emily burst through but couldn't quite keep it under control and her shot wasn't strong enough to trouble Wimbledon's excellent goalkeeper.

With 15 minutes to go, the visitors played their final card, replacing the tiring Sinead with Millie MacEacharn, despite her protestations that she didn't want to play against the champions because they're too good. Within seconds she was one of three Teddington players breaking through on goal, and although she and Emily were both offside the linesman correctly didn't flag because the ball was instead with Amy, who was onside but unable to steer the ball goalwards.

Soon after, Teddington tried their own vertical, which almost succeeded spectacularly. With Wimbledon retreating to the edge of the box, the ball over the top was met with technical brilliance by Emily who volleyed, but the goalkeeper saved well again.

It could have been the equaliser, but now it's just a memory. Shortly after the hour, Wimbledon doubled their lead as Teddington again contributed to their own downfall. Taking a goal-kick, Jelly slipped in the mud; Parky had split wide to receive the ball rather than cover the middle in case of mishap; the Wimbledon striker simply received the ball and slapped it into the empty goal.

Even at 3-1 down, Teddington didn't give up, and late chances could have given them an unlikely point. Firstly, from a big Jelly clearance, Amy hit a volley that the keeper parried well, with the rebound falling for the reintroduced Sinead to hit a volley that the keeper parried well. A minute later, Emily burst through the inside-left channel and hit a goalbound shot which the goalkeeper pushed onto the post. There's a theme developing: good goalkeepers win games, and while Jelly is far from dodgy "in the middle of the woods", as the French call the position, her presence is also missed outfield in the big games.

Clearly Teddington are far from outclassed in this division; the warmly welcoming Fawwad (not Ahmed!) and his AFC Wimbledon colleagues are generous in their praise of the top-flight newcomers. The best teams operate on weaknesses and mistakes, eliminating their own and punishing their opponents'. Teddington are learning all the time and they left SW19 more experienced, more thoughtful and better players. That's all that matters.

TEDDINGTON Ella V; Millie Theobald, Saskia Brewster, Phoebe Head, Carla Novoakovic, Ella Dodd, Sinead Morris (1), Emily Coulson, Ale Fairn. Subs Ella Parkinson-Mearns, Millie MacEacharn, Amy Hallett. Thanks to David Theobald for pigeon-posting the photos.