Feb 5th 2026
- Gizmo's preview - AFC Croydon (H)
- Round 3 preview
- Macie Windsor
- View from the touchline
Match preview
AFC Croydon (H)
Greater London League Cup
Venue: The stadium at Cheshunt,
THEOBALDS LANE, CHESHUNT, WALTHAM CROSS, Hertfordshire EN8 8RU.
Kick-off at 2.00pm.
A third game this season against Croydon, albeit in the Cup, while Orient still haven’t managed to play South London First at all in the league. Croydon are going along well for a newly promoted team and are probably the fourth best team in the division. More generally, this looks to be a club on the rise with some good owners.
Kizanna Fergus is the one-woman scoring machine with eleven in eight games. Angelina Hewitt-Williams has the unenviable task of being the last line of defence on Sunday with Daveeka Gayle, Isis Osei-Tutu, Saffiah Robinson and Thalia McDougall helping her out. McDougall also has five goals to her name. My apologies to anyone I’ve missed out in the Croydon back-line.
Orient come into this match having caned Sporting Duet 18-0 despite the absence of Sammie Rowland, Steph McCaffrey, Ellie Leek, Wiki Fronc, Kallie Balfour and Lois Heuchan. Three new players made their debuts: Isobel Irvine, Edie Miller stepped up from the Under 18s side and Macie Windsor who signed up recently with the latter helping herself to a debut goal. More about Macie below...
"AI comes to lofcwomen.com "
Two players scored hat-tricks: Lucy Porter (including a long-range special) and Poppy Binding (natch). Weighing in with two apiece were Eva Carvalho (from left back) and Wiktoria Kiszkis. I want to know if “It’s Raining Men” is the normal pre-match song.
Having knocked the rust off in emphatic fashion, the girls will be keen to go again in a cup competition. Steph McCaffrey may return but it seems too early for Sammie Rowland. It would be nice to see Ellie Leek back, who has been an important part of the team but if it’s not to be we wish her well. As always, Captain Sensible Grace Gillard will lead the team out partnered by Hayley West. As ever, Esme Lancaster will be providing insurance down the right-hand side and Gemma Baker and Kallie Balfour will be working hard to support the front players.
It will be interesting to see if the new recruits get a longer run-out in this game. Orient were in excellent form last weekend and will look to continue in the same vein, Croydon are perhaps better defensively than Sporting Duet so I don’t see a repeat of that scoreline but still a comfortable win for the Orient.
Recent results:
AFC Croydon Athletic 0 Leyton Orient 10 (14 December 2025)
Leyton Orient 7 AFC Croydon Athletic 0 (19 October 2025)
Gizmo
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The JGMT League cup
The official name of Sunday's match is: Round 3 of the John Greenacre Memorial Trophy. John was instrumental in the rise of the Greater London Women's Football League. The JGMT is a standard cup knock-out competition to be contested between all the teams in the Greater London Women's Football League - the "League Cup" if you will.
The GLWFL has five leagues, headed by the Premier division (where we are) which is recognised as a Tier Seven league nationally. The premier division has 10 teams. There is a Division One (North) and a Division One (South) with 18 teams between them, they can be regarded as Tier 8. There is also a Division 2 (north) and a Division 2 (South and Central) with 17 teams between them. They are unofficially termed as Tier 9.
That makes 45 teams in the competition. We received a bye in round 1 and a walkover in round 2, so here we are in round 3 against a strong Croydon side, if we win, we will enter the quarter finals. A couple, of years ago, the final was played between two Division One sides (to the shame of the premier division teams - including us). With Fusion WFC (with former players from Islington Boro) and Brentford B storming their leagues this year, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that it could happen again.
League Cup games this Sunday
It's League Cup weekend so the remaining teams will get it on this Sunday. Here are the ties...
| LC |
Balham |
: |
Tooting Bec |
| LC |
Civil Service |
: |
Sporting Duet |
| LC |
Orient |
: |
AFC Croydon |
| LC |
Hammersmith Res |
: |
South London |
| LC |
Islington Boro |
: |
Laces Spartans |
| LC |
London Accies |
: |
Brentford B |
Predictions:
Having got a bloody nose from last week's attempts, this time we'll be a little more circumspect. In brief, Balham will not have enough to stop their neighbours at Tooting Bec from heading to the quarter finals. Sporting Duet will be smarting from the big defeat last Sunday but they will be too strong for mid-table Civil Service from Division One. Hammersmith are a well funded ultra-organised football club but asking their reserves to see off South London Firsts is asking a bit too much. Similarly with struggling Islington Boro, they should have enough to get past Laces Spartans. The only doubt for us would be the London Accies tie against Brentford B. The Bees hve been perennial Premier division residents until last season, however, having underestimated the Accies last week, we're not going to do that again. The Academicals to go through.
Macie Windsor
"AI comes to lofcwomen.com "
Introducing: Macie Windsor – Orient’s New Essex Firecracker Up Front.
Leyton Orient Women have added real spark to their forward line with the signing of 20 year old Essex striker Macie Windsor, a player whose journey through some of the region’s strongest pathways has shaped her into a fearless, hard running attacking threat.
Windsor arrives at Orient with a reputation for relentless work rate, direct running, and a willingness to take on defenders. Her footballing roots run deep in the county: Millwall, West Ham, Tottenham, Leigh Ramblers, Canvey Island and Barking Abbey all played a part in her development before she stepped into senior football.
Her first taste of the women’s game came with Hashtag United, where she broke into the senior squad as a teenager. A serious ACL injury halted her early momentum, but her comeback — and the determination behind it — became a defining part of her story. After returning to action, she broadened her game with a spell in the United States at Butler Community College, adding physicality, confidence, and valuable minutes to her profile.
Most recently with Billericay Town Women, Windsor clocked up regular National League South minutes and continued to show the pace and directness that make her such a handful for defenders.
Now, she’s chosen Brisbane Road as the next step in her journey.
A proud Essex girl with a point to prove, Windsor brings hunger, personality, and a forward’s instinct to an Orient side looking to push on. Fans can expect a player who presses with intent, runs at defenders without hesitation, and plays with the kind of edge supporters instantly warm to.
Her story has already had setbacks, comebacks, and a few thousand miles travelled — but the next chapter begins in red.
Welcome to Leyton Orient Women, Macie.
The above information was offered by our chosen AI portal so apologies if there are inaccuracies. Macie is still a Billericay Town player, they play at Tier three, but Macie comes to us via the "dual registration" route. It can't be called a "loan" because non-professional players do not have contracts - although for practical purposes, it does look like a loan except the player can play for both teams in the same season but not in the same competition. Orient are well known for taking excellent care of it's women players so it's not surprising that Macie should choose this option. It has to be said that Billericay are amid major changes so perhaps things are less stable there at the moment than has been the case in recent years. WEW wish them all the best, we at Orient know about radical changes at board level.
We haven't forgotten about Edie Miller and Isobel Irvine who both made their first team debuts on Sunday. Both have stepped up from the under 18s squad so our congratulations to them. We hope to catch up with them in the near future.
Isobel and Edie, first team debutants.
A view from the touchline
Our thanks and appreciation to a contributor on "Mungo's" Leyton Orient forum. Known there as 'Dennis Rofe', he made his first visit to a women's game and made some comments which we've reproduced here:-
I went early to go to the match as I had to find the ground and make sure I could park my car ok, as usual I was being over cautious, found the ground ok and plenty of room in the car park. Miserable weather, cold, grey skies and drizzling with rain the whole time.
The Orient team surprised me as to how good they were, slick passing and good movement throughout the game. the opposition were thoroughly outclassed and their goalkeeper had a problem coping with the non stop pressure put on her. Sporting Duet had a couple of really good forwards, especially in the second half but little to no service from the rest of the team, so when one made a run and took on the Os defenders, they were on their own with no one to help them or pass to.
Because I was a newcomer, I could not identify many of the players apart from when I sat by chance next to Larry (lofcwomen's match reporter) and he knew everything about the team and he was very busy throughout the game on his smart phone writing down the match details and he told me who the various players were. Three who stood out to me were Esme Lancaster, Lucy Porter and Poppy Binding. The next time I go to a game I shall get a list of the players names and numbers so that I can identify them better.
Lastly I noticed a small but strong player on the right side and turned out her name was Olivia McGregor number 15 and by chance I got talking to the lady sat next to me in the stand and she was Olivia's mother and she said her daughter plays at fullback or midfield. Olivia may be small but she is a real warrior of a player !
Our thanks to Dennis, here's hoping we'll see you as a regular! Mungo's forum carries regular updates for the Women's team, you don't need to sign up to read them, here's today's example:- Mungo's Orient forum
