Our Leyton Orient women travelled to Cheshunt for a Herts cup day on Sunday, 15th Feb, on yet another rainy day. We knew we were bound to get wet and cold, but did that stop any of us? Of course not! We took a squad of 10 of our finest.
Luckily the rain stopped just in time for us to start our games.
We were in Group A and had some tough opponents ahead of us. The top two of each group would play for the cup, and third and fourth positions were to play for the plate. Each game was 10 mins straight through.
First up was Welwyn. We were hopeful that we could get a win from this game and played a strong team. Unfortunately, Frances injured her knee somehow during warm up, so decided it was best to sit it out. It was a bit of a frustrating game, they didn’t really get through our defence, but we couldn’t find the back of the net with Clare K hitting both posts, and it finished goalless. But 1 point is better than none. Result, Leyton Orient 0 – 0 Welwyn.
Second game was against Luton Blues. We know Luton are a good side and they had two teams playing on the day. Frances said she wanted to try playing. We played better this time. Some good defensive play, and some good movement resulted in a good strike from Sam, which was assisted by Frances. Three points on the board. Result - Leyton Orient 1 (Sam Baker) - 0 Luton Blues.
Next up, Cheshunt Hawks. Cheshunt also fielded two sides on the day. We know they are another strong team as we play them in the league. We fielded a team to match them, with our warrior Frances wanting to go into battle, even though she was struggling. This was a tough game, but we rose to the challenge. Then, back of the net! With Sam’s assistance, Frances managed to find a way through. Another three points on the board. Result - Cheshunt Hawks 0 – 1 Leyton Orient (Frances Handley).
Unfortunately, Frances was unable to continue and decided to call it a day but not before she had made her mark giving us a good win!

Onwards we went. Match four was against Watford. This was another good side. They will be playing in the Herts league this season. We changed the team line up a bit to rest some of our core players, and fielded all of our subs. They played well together but couldn’t find a way through to score. Then some good Watford play at the Orient end, and a break through of our defence, resulted in a good shot into the back of our net. The first goal against us! Result – Watford 1 – 0 Leyton Orient.
Our penultimate game was against Southend Greens. Southend were another playing two teams in the tournament. We will be facing this side in the Herts league this season as they were promoted last year. Again, Orient had some really good play, and our defence was strong enough to keep them at bay. This time, a clever dummy by Sam resulted in a strike on goal by Clare K to get us back on our track. Result - Southend Greens 0 – 1 Leyton Orient (Clare Kavanagh).
So, here we go, the last group game against the toughest of them all, Chesham. The league winners for the past two years. We had our top warriors on the field and hoped for the best. Chesham are a very quick side and fielded some of their England players. But we were mostly a match for them, and they didn’t get it all their own way, our super defenders Debbie and Sally blocking where they could. A few of their shots were saved, but they did break through twice with pinpoint accuracy to get them a win. Result – Chesham 2 – 0 Leyton Orient.
So then we had to wait to see where we ended up in the table? We knew we had a very respectable 10 points, and had four clean sheets from six games, and only three goals against us.
There were still group games being played so we had a bit of an anxious wait. Then, just when we thought we were going to get away with no more rain, the heavens opened! We found shelter under Luton’s gazebo, with Sherrille being safely tucked away in our little tent.
The other games finished, the tables totted up. We had finished third in our group, so into battle for the Plate semi’s. We were up against Harlow Town Pirates. We play them in the Essex league, and they will be playing in the Herts league this season. We know them to be another good side, and they have beaten us on numerous occasions. They are also regular winners of the Essex league. But of course, this didn’t phase us.
We played a great game, and were definitely a match for them, they weren’t going to get the better of us. They did manage to get in a couple of great shots, but these were saved by the diving Orient keeper. Final result - Leyton Orient 0 – 0 Harlow Town.
Of course, a goalless draw at this point meant the dreaded penalty shoot-out! Three penalties to be taken by each side. It was now dark, and we were wet and cold. Unfortunately, we couldn’t convert our first two penalties, but Harlow did. So, it ended – Leyton Orient 0 – 2 Harlow.
Harlow went on to win the plate, beating Cheshunt Hawks in the final.
Given that we have not had much training or playing time together since the start of the year mainly due to the constant rain, this was a performance to be proud of. We faced some of the toughest competition and held our own throughout. As always, we played in great spirit and we have a lot of positives to take forward, and we know the areas where we need to improve to be ready for the start of the league fixtures. Bring it on, we say!!
Squad – Chris Williams (GK); Debbie Lewzey; Sally Jones; Sherrille Hyatt; Andree Selner; Clare Kavanagh; Lynda Dowling; Clare Nwofor; Sam Baker (C); Frances Handley.
Manager – Chris Williams.