Leyton Orient Women

Orient 2:1 Colchester Utd

Orient survive a scare as Colchester threaten to upset the form book

They say the hallmark of a good football team is the ability to win when things aren't going entirely to plan. If that's true, Leyton Orient's women demonstrated another important quality on Sunday afternoon, recovering from a potentially embarrassing half-time deficit to secure three more points and retain their place at the top of the league.

The final score tells only part of the story of an entertaining encounter at Cheshunt, where struggling Colchester United came remarkably close to upsetting the form book.
On paper, this looked about as straightforward as league fixtures get. Orient occupied top spot, having conceded an average of just 1.3 goals per league game, while their visitors sat second from bottom, having lost all four of their previous league encounters and conceded an average of four goals per match. The statistics pointed towards a comfortable home victory. However, football matches have a habit of ignoring statistics.

📷 Roy Warner

Familiar absentees, welcome returns.

Once again, Orient coach Buckley was obliged to reshuffle his resources, with Amy Day, Aimee Brosnan, Erin Cheyne, Elissa Stonebrook, Tiffany Balfour and Kaylee Shurety all unavailable for various reasons. Nevertheless, Orient were able to assemble a full sixteen-player squad, including two particularly welcome additions.

Macie Windsor, the outstanding left-back from last season's all-conquering team, has returned to Orient as a new signing, while Brittany Maldonado was another familiar and welcome face back in the red shirt after a long absence. Both would make their presence felt as the afternoon unfolded.

📷 Roy Warner

Plenty of chances, but no reward.

From the opening exchanges, Orient established the territorial advantage expected of the league leaders. The home side enjoyed the greater share of possession, pressed forward regularly and created opportunities. Indeed, the statistics supplied by our crew at the game reveal that Orient fashioned no fewer than sixteen chances during the opening forty-five minutes, compared with just four for Colchester. Not the statistics of a team struggling to create anything. The difficulty was converting those opportunities into goals.

Some chances were speculative, others more promising, but the Colchester defence worked tirelessly to frustrate the home side, while the visiting goalkeeper was having an exceptionally busy afternoon. For all Orient's attacking enterprise, the scoreboard stubbornly refused to cooperate.

Then came one of those moments that remind us why football remains such a gloriously unpredictable game. Despite having created only four chances, Colchester managed to turn one of them into a goal. It was an unfortunate moment for Orient's returning goalkeeper, Freya Faulkner. An awkward, unpredictable bounce saw the ball squeeze through her legs and into the net. Those watching from the sidelines were quick to acknowledge out that Freya had positioned herself correctly and was simply undone by the behaviour of the ball. The ladies rarely get to play on a billiards table type surface.

And so, despite enjoying the overwhelming majority of the attacking play, Orient trudged towards the dressing room trailing by that goal. Meanwhile, Colchester, having arrived at Cheshunt with four consecutive defeats behind them, found themselves contemplating the possibility of a rather unexpected victory.

📷 Roy Warner

Seven minutes that changed everything.

We have no access to the Orient dressing room at half-time, which is probably just as well. Whatever coach Buckley said during the interval, it certainly produced a response. Within seven minutes of the restart, the league leaders had completely transformed the contest.

First, Aleena Anwar produced a magnificent long-range effort to bring Orient level. Then Stef Paci decided that one spectacular goal wasn't quite enough entertainment for the afternoon and promptly delivered another outstanding strike from distance. Two superb goals, both thoroughly deserving of consideration for goal of the month.

In the space of a few minutes, Orient had gone from staring at a potentially damaging defeat to leading by two goals to one. The relief felt around Cheshunt was considerable. The quality of the goals, however, was something to celebrate in its own right.

📷 Roy Warner

An afternoon of attacking football.

With the lead secured, Orient continued to press forward rather than simply retreating into defensive mode. The second-half statistics tell their own story. The home side created another eleven opportunities, bringing their match total to twenty-seven, while Colchester managed five after the break. Across the ninety minutes, that represented twenty-seven chances to nine in Orient's favour.

Clearly, this was no dour contest in which the league leaders had struggled to string together a meaningful attack. It was an open, entertaining game, with plenty of attacking football and much for the home supporters to enjoy. The frustration lay chiefly in the conversion rate. To be fair, considerable credit must go to the Colchester goalkeeper who was required to work her socks off as Orient repeatedly threatened her goal.

The visiting defence also deserves recognition for refusing to surrender, particularly after conceding twice in such quick succession. With a little more accuracy in front of goal, Orient might have enjoyed a substantially more comfortable afternoon. Equally, Colchester were sufficiently adventurous to remind the home side that the points were not yet safely in the bag.

📷 Roy Warner

Plenty of individual positives.

There were several performances worthy of particular mention.
Macie Windsor's return was especially pleasing for those who remember her contribution to last season's hugely successful side. Introduced from the bench, she quickly demonstrated that she has lost none of the qualities that made her such an important member of that team.
Brittany Maldonado also made an encouraging return, looking strong, confident and effective.

Stef Paci, skipper and Larry's pick for PotM, put in an excellent shift, combining hard work throughout the match with a memorable goal that ultimately proved to be the winner.

Megan McAniskey and Molly Sherrin both deserve recognition for their tireless contributions, battling away and putting in the sort of determined work that doesn't always attract headlines but is essential to a successful team.

There was further encouragement in the performance of young Edie Miller, whose defensive play continues to improve. Her development has become increasingly noticeable from week to week, and it is always pleasing to see a young player growing in confidence and ability.

And then there is Aleena Anwar. Aleena seems constitutionally incapable of having a quiet afternoon. When she isn't battling for possession with the determination of Roy Keane, she's looking for another opportunity to get herself in front of goal. On this occasion, she managed both, with her outstanding equaliser providing the spark for Orient's second-half revival.
Finally, a word for Freya Faulkner. Her unfortunate involvement in Colchester's goal should not overshadow an otherwise excellent performance. Her positioning was generally sound, and she produced several important saves and interventions as the visitors searched for a way back into the contest. Goalkeepers tend to be remembered for the goals they concede. On this occasion, Freya deserves to be remembered for those she prevented.

📷 Ben James

Three points, and a warning for the weeks ahead.

The final whistle arrived with Orient's narrow advantage intact. A two-one victory, another three points, and exactly where we want to be — at the summit of the table.
There was plenty to appreciate in the performance. The attacking intent was evident, the opportunities were plentiful, the response to falling behind was excellent, and several individual players made valuable contributions. The supporters were generally very happy with what they'd witnessed. And why not?

Twenty-seven chances, two outstanding goals and a comeback victory provide considerably more entertainment than many a routine afternoon of football. Nevertheless, the inability to convert a greater proportion of those chances remains something to address. The next fixtures are about to become considerably less forgiving.

Orient's next two matches are both against Chelmsford City, widely regarded as the favourites for this season's league title. These encounters could have enormous implications for the promotion race. Two victories would strengthen Orient's position considerably and send out a powerful message. Two defeats could leave our ambitions far less convincing by the end of November.

In summary, Orient created twenty-seven chances, scored two excellent goals, recovered from a half-time deficit and demonstrated the determination to win a match that might easily have slipped away. Those are not insignificant achievements.
As for Colchester, they deserve considerable credit for arriving at the home of the league leaders with a poor record yet coming so close to leaving with something to show for their efforts. Their first league points will surely arrive if they continue to compete with such determination.

For Orient, though, the focus now shifts towards Chelmsford. Two matches that may go a long way towards defining the season. And if Sunday's encounter teaches us anything, it's that supporting Leyton Orient Women is unlikely to become a relaxing pastime any time soon.

✍ Larry Peterson

Audio report

If you are mainly interested in the women's team update, a HiFi copy of the Orient Outlook Podcast audio report (2 mins 34 secs long) can be heard by clicking HERE or on the image below.

You can also tune in to their full podcast of the previous week's ins and outs by clicking this YouTube link - no signup needed. The show includes:-

• A chat with left-back Somto Boniface
• Harborough Town match review
• Richie's full post match interview
• News from around the club over the last 7 days
• Lots of fan views
• Ladies update from lofcwomen.com
• Youth team update
• Fantasy football
• Hero of the week
• Dave Victor says...

Re-live the game - as it happened

Sunday's live-Text show was another roller coaster affair as, at half time with the score at 0:1, we thought we may be up against it despite Colchester's point-less season to date.
These shows can be a bit frantic but it's a lot of fun bringing you minute-by-minute updates as the game progresses. Not knowing the outcome adds some spice to the mix. We have Larry Peterson and Ben James (plus friends and the LOFCwomen.com air-horn) at the games, they send in reports every couple of minutes and we post them, live! straight onto our website. There are no adverts, no cookies, no tracking, no sponsors and there's no need to keep refreshing the page to see the latest update - we do all that - every game.

To review Sunday's blow-by-blow "Phew!" 2:1 win, just click the graphic below:

Sunday's results round-up

Sunday, 8th November, there were five Division One South league games, the scores were as follows:

⚽  The Chelmsford City juggernaut trundles on, this time at the expense of AFC Welwyn Reserves. Next week they play us - and again the week after that!

⚽  Wormley's forge up the table came to a halt, they had Southend firmly in their sights but the Shrimpers are determined to have a strong season.

League table after Sunday's results.

Eastern Regional Women's Football League (ERWFL)
Division One (South)

We know we publish the table rather a lot... but look who's top!

Aimee Brosnan says...

A piece put together by LOFC Media and recent recruit Aimee Brosnan was featured in the programme for the FA Cup home game against Harborough. We have updated it a little and reproduced most of it here to help spread the word....

We'll be back on Thursday with a preview of next Sunday's big league clash at home to title favourites Chelmsford City plus any other news we can gather in the meantime.