On Thursday 6th November eight of Leyton Orient Walking FC women’s finest travelled to Tenerife to play in the Canaries Walking Football Tournament for the second year running. They were joined a day later by three more travellers giving Orient a full squad of ten plus one supporter.

The tournament was held at Top Training which is a great facility used by Premiership clubs for warm weather training. This year the organisers had arranged for more gazebos to provide shade but it was still pretty warm! As well as the women’s competitions there were two men’s competitions going on and it was great to see a friendly face amongst the Barnet team. There were seven teams in the women’s competition so we played six matches in the first round. The matches were 7-a-side and lasted for 20 minutes.

Orient’s first match was against Workington St Josephs who the O’s played last year and got to know well as they stayed at the same hotel as Orient. The Workington team had really progressed over the last year and, on the Sunday before this tournament, they played at the finals of the FA Cup at St George’s Park. The match got off to a lively start and Workington got an early lead when their captain (and England player) struck the ball from a long way out. Despite having some players in their 30s and an underage player in her 20s Workington did not have it all their own way. Rose was outstanding in goal and the Os’ defence really stepped up. Orient did get some shots away (Grint in particular) but the O’s just gave the St Joseph’s captain too much room. Final Score: Workington St Joseph’s 3 v 0 Leyton Orient.

The second match was against Mid Devon. This time it was the O’s who took the early lead after an excellent strike from Matthews on the left. Unfortunately, Orient did not hold onto the lead for long and went into the second half 2-1 down. Quoting Steve Eades, our “heads did not go down” and Orient fought back with spirit. Firstly, there was a second goal for Matthews assisted by Handley. Handley then had the ball near the area, turned, shot and scored. This was followed by a rapid second goal for Handley. Mid Devon did get themselves into a scoring position but Rose saved the shot easily. Kavanagh then had a long range chance which sailed into the goal before Handley completed her hat trick. Final score: Mid Devon 2 v 6 Leyton Orient (Handley 3, Matthews 2, Kavanagh).

The third match was against Las Chifiras Flamingos. This was a team made up of players from Tenerife bolstered by some English friends. This team also involved a 26 year old. (One under 35 allowed on each team.) This was a very lively affair and the only game we played in where blue cards were given out for not walking offences. Despite players being sin binned, the only goal of the match included a full sprint from one end of the pitch to the other which went unpunished. Final score: Leyton Orient 0 v 1 Las Chafiras Flamingos.

Next up for Orient were Las Chafiras Lionesses – very much the ‘B’ team for the Tenerife club. They were short of players at the start of the tournament and so borrowed various players – including Rose for half a match after their goalkeeper was injured. The game began with an early shot into the side netting from Kavanagh. An intercepted pass was converted into a goal by Handley. Kavanagh then had a long range shot saved by the (borrowed) keeper. Baker and Kavanagh peppered the goal with shots but they were either saved or wide of the mark. In the second half Orient continued to dominate with shots from Dowling, Baker, Grint and Kavanagh. At last, one of Kavanagh’s was unstoppable. Final score: Las Chafiras Lionesses 0 v 2 Leyton Orient (Handley, Kavanagh).

The second day of competition dawned with Orient getting ready to play the team that had won last year’s tournament – Torino. The Italians are a relatively young, swift side. Despite good work by the team with shots from Handley, Orient went into the second half one nil down. In the second half Handley got an early shot on target and Rose made a great save at the other end. A super sequence of passes led to Kavanagh feeding the ball to Baker who struck it sweetly into the left corner of the net. Torino then made a mistake and lost the ball to Kavanagh who sent a long ball to Handley who promptly scored. Torino kept up the pressure to the very end but Orient held firm. Final score: Torino 1 v 2 Leyton Orient (Baker, Handley).

Orient’s final match in the round robin part of the tournament was against Collingham. Collingham scored fairly early on after pouncing on a rebound from Rose’s save. Collingham’s second came from a long shot. Grint had a shot well saved by the Collingham keeper. In the second half Collingham scored a third that Rose did get a hand to but couldn’t stop going in. Final Score: Leyton Orient 0 v 3 Collingham.

The results at this point meant that Orient were going in to the Plate Competition. The O’s were due to re-play Las Chafiras Lionesses first. Their injury situation had worsened so they asked if we would play a 5-a-side match against them. We agreed to this – not easy on a large pitch – in the heat. The match started with a speculative shot from Selner. Orient maintained most of the possession with Baker supplying the assist to Handley’s goal. Orient continued to have many chances before Kavanagh chased a ball and proceeded to score. In the second half Orient had the luxury of substitutes but did not manage to add to the scoreline. Final Score: Las Chafiras Lionesses 0 v 2 Leyton Orient (Handley, Kavanagh).

There was then a bit of a kerfuffle as the Lionesses were due to play Mid Devon next but Mid Devon were not willing to play 5-a-side. The solution was for Orient to play Mid Devon hoping to win the match and then another match would be unnecessary.

The first half was end to end with both sides having chances. Handley’s shot hit the post. In the second half some good defending kept Mid Devon out. Kavanagh hit a long shot which went in for the first goal. Mid Devon continued to press but this was dealt with well by the O’s. Kavanagh’s second goal came after she received the ball with her back to the goal. She turned and shot quickly. A late shot from Mid Devon was well saved by Rose. Final score: Mid Devon 0 v 2 Leyton Orient (Kavanagh 2).

This result meant that Leyton Orient won the Plate Competition. The Cup was won by Torino who beat Workington St Joseph’s in the final.

Thanks to Orient’s team mates who worked out a master plan so that everyone got the same amount of game time. Also thanks to Sherrille and Steve for the support during the matches.

Captain Selner commented, “Well I think I came into this tournament with the intention of ensuring everyone got equal playing time (save for a few instances) and an amazing experience of playing walking football on tour, as part of a holiday adventure with good friends. I wanted us to all play in a way that was true to walking football and in the right spirit of the game. If we were able to win silverware doing this, then that would be the added bonus.”

The captain went on to say, “We showed throughout a togetherness and unity, as well as some great football, that led us to the Plate win. We went down in a few games but never let our heads drop, even gaining a win against the eventual tournament Champions. Thanks to all who took part, organised and supported. Couldn’t be prouder of this team and look forward to the next one!”

Leyton Orient Squad: Andree Selner (Cpt), Chantel Rose (Gk), Alison Kay, Debbie Lewzey, Clare Kavanagh, Sam Baker, Sarah Grint, Frances Handley, Ann Matthews, Lynda Dowling.

Goal scorers: Handley (6), Kavanagh (5), Matthews (2), Baker.

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Image used © 2025 Alison Kay