On Sunday 23rd June the Leyton Orient Walking FC women’s team arrived on a warm and humid evening in the dome at Watford FC training complex to compete in the WFLA over 40s women’s cup (Regional Finals).

The other teams taking part were Cheshunt, Bracknell and Kettering.

Due to unavailability and injury the team were only able to field six players for all three matches, although the injured Ahlstrom came along to support as she had strict instructions not to play unless absolutely necessary.

The first match was against Bracknell with the Orient line up consisting of Williams in goal, captain Selner in central defence, Dowling, Kavanagh and Lewzey in midfield and Baker up front. This formation pretty much remained the same for all three matches. The game started in positive fashion for Orient with some great passing and movement inmidfield which resulted in a free kick from which Baker fired just over the bar. This was quickly followed by a long range shot from Dowling which was saved by the Bracknell keeper. Further impressive midfield interplay continued resulting in another shot from Dowling that was pushed wide by the keeper for a corner. A speculative shot from the Bracknell striker followed which narrowly went outside the post. Another Bracknell shot was comfortably saved by Williams. This was a good positive first half performance. Early in the second half Bracknell upped their game with Williams having to make another good save before a through ball from the Bracknell midfield left the Orient defence with a two on one situation which the Bracknell striker exploited with a good finish. Orient fought back with a long range free kick from Selner skimming over the bar. Selner continued to advance into midfield setting up Kavanagh for a shot that went just past the post. Another shot from Kavanagh quickly followed which was well saved by the opposing keeper before the final whistle. Final score: Bracknell 1 v 0 Leyton Orient.

Next up were Kettering. The game was evenly matched in the opening exchanges before Baker unleashed an excellent cross shot across the goalkeeper’s area that narrowly missed the far post. Then a misplaced pass in front of Orient’s goal was quickly latched onto by a Kettering player who finished with aplomb. Orient fought back bravely with a shot from Kavanagh going just past the post before the half time whistle. The second half started well with Selner unleashing a long range shot which was well saved by the Kettering keeper. Dowling quickly followed with a shot of her own that was also saved. The opposition replied with a shot that was well saved by Williams. Orient continued to dominate possession, with some excellent passing but were unable to get the equaliser before the final whistle. Final score: Kettering 1 v 0 Leyton Orient.

The final match was against arch rivals Cheshunt. The match began again with some impressive possession football by the O’s which resulted in a shot from Baker that was just wide of the post. Cheshunt replied with a shot of their own which went past the post. Orient fought back again with another shot from Baker that went just over the bar. Some sustained pressure from Cheshunt resulted in shot that was well saved by Williams before a further Cheshunt attack culminated in an unstoppable shot from a Cheshunt striker to open the scoring. A promising Orient move soon followed but was stopped when the referee had to change the ball. Cheshunt continued to press resulting in a fierce shot that hit Williams full in the face. After some concussion checks Williams bravely continued in goal. Towards the end of the match Dowling worked her way into a good shooting position but took just one too many touches and the chance was gone. Final score: Cheshunt 1 v 0 Leyton Orient.

Considering Leyton Orient were restricted to only six players, with some notable absences and no substitutes, the team went toe to toe with all three opponents and at times displayed some fine possession football. Unfortunately minor errors and missed chances resulted in a frustrating end to the evening. The team spirit throughout the evening was exemplary.

Leyton Orient Womens squad: Andree Selner (Cpt), Chris Williams (Gk), Clare Kavanagh, Debbie Lewzey, Lynda Dowling, Clare Kavanagh, Debbie Lewzey, Sam Baker.

Goalscorers:

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Image used © 2024 Simon Baker

Location

Bell Ln, London Colney, Shenley, St Albans AL2 1BZ, UK