LEYTON ORIENT WOMEN FC

Sammy Rowland

Samantha 'Sammy' Rowland (SR) got to share her thoughts about joining Leyton Orient and her reflections on the women's pre-season so far. This piece was printed in the match programme for the game against Stockport County on 16th August.
[LOFC] HOW HAS PRE-SEASON GONE SO FAR?
[SR] As a group. I think I speak for us all when I say we're pretty happy with how pre-season has gone so far. Of course, we'd love for all the results to have gone in our favour, but from a performance perspective, there's a lot to be proud of. We've come together quickly, built connections on and off the pitch, and shown that we're capable of competing with teams well above our level. There's still plenty to improve on, but we're definitely heading in the right direction.
{LOFC] YOU'VE FACED A LOT OF SIDES HIGHER IN THE FOOTBALLING PYRAMID TOO WITH SOME REALLY GOOD RESULTS?
[SR] We've faced four Tier 4 sides (Norwich, Fulham, Dulwich Hamlet, and Moneyfields). We came away with two wins and two losses. Considering they're all three tiers above us. we can be really pleased with how we held our own in every match. These fixtures weren't Just about results, they were about testing ourselves, building chemistry and, personally, I would've liked to have scored more goals during pre-season but I was happy to get on the scoresheet against Dulwich Hamlet. I've been putting in the work at training and I'm confident the goals will come once the season kicks off properly. It's been great to feel that hunger again, not just individually, but across the whole squad.
[LOFC] THERE'S A NEW LOOK TO THE SQUAD, WITH A LOT OF NEW ARRIVALS (INCLUDING YOURSELF), HOW IS THE GROUP COMING TOGETHER?
[SR] We've got a really good group of girls this year. As many will have seen, there are a lot of new faces in the squad. The majority of us have come from Hashtag United. Whether that's the first team or the reserves and we've blended quickly. Alongside that, we've brought in players from tiers 4 and 5, some exciting young talent with huge potential and a few who've played at top levels but faced setbacks due to injury. It's a diverse mix, but what's stood out is how quickly we've gelled and how aligned we are in terms of ambition. There's a real sense of purpose and excitement around what we're building. When I was presented with the opportunity to be part of this rebuild, to help shape a new era for an already established club, it was something I couldn't turn down.
[LOFC] WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE SEASON?
[SR] Looking ahead. our main priority will be the league, but we're also really excited about the FA Cup. The draw's been made, and we'll face Hitchin Belles in the first round of qualifying. We're hoping for a good run in the competition and a chance to create some special memories along the way. It's a big season for us and we hope to see plenty of Leyton Orient fans there supporting us throughout.

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Steve and Paul at OOS continue to support the women's team by including a section in their excellent podcast which is dedicated to the women's team and related news. If you prefer your updates to be brief and in audio format, here's a link to their podcast on YouTube which starts at the point where they reach the section for the ladies. The whole podcast is well worth a listen if you want to spend about an hour and 40 minutes getting up to speed about what's been happening in and around the club.

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Orient's women's senior squad took a trip to Greater Manchester over the weekend and they arrived at the Leigh Village Sports Centre all 'suited and booted'. The entire squad was kitted out in the green training kit and looked like a visiting international squad of professionals. Sadly we don't have a photo but we did see a brief video clip of the girls arriving and they certainly cut a dash. You have to admire the mind-set that makes that kind of thing happen. The purpose was to engage in some team bonding and have a go at the (in)famous "Bronco" fitness and conditioning assessment process.
The Bronco Test is a high-intensity running fitness assessment widely used in football, rugby and other field sports to measure aerobic capacity, speed endurance, and mental toughness. It's brutally simple — and equally brutally effective.
🔧 How It Works
- Setup: Place markers at 0m, 20m, 40m, and 60m.
- One Set: Run from 0m → 60m → back to 0m → 40m → back to 0m → 20m → back to 0m.
- Distance per set: 240 meters.
- Total: Complete 5 sets for a total of 1,200 meters.
- Goal: Finish as fast as possible.
🧠 Why It Matters
The Bronco Test is designed to simulate the repeated sprint efforts required in sports like football and rugby. It evaluates:-
- High-intensity effort repetition
- Recovery ability
- Conditioning under fatigue
- Mental grit and pacing strategy

Here's an interesting video clip where the ladies were asked to introduce themselves before "doing the Bronco" - and then to go back in front of the camera immediately after. Our thanks to the lofc_women instagram account.

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The one competition that gives everyone playing women's football the chance to pit themselves against the Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal etc.... is the women's FA Cup. On 7th September, something like 163 FA Cup matches will be played as everyone seeks to progress and play a major team in a big stadium - Nothing new there!
The first set of matches is called the "first qualifying round" and is mainly the preserve of Tier Seven clubs - like us. There are three qualifying rounds where the number of lower league teams eliminate each other before the higher Tier teams start entering the competition. We've been drawn away at Hitchin Belles who claim to be the biggest women's independent club in the country with something like 650 registered players. They have teams of all ages and of differing abilities, we will be facing the best they have to offer.
For the smaller clubs, there's some serious wonga on offer if you can go rounds, here's the prize fund level:-
PRIZE FUND PAYMENTS - WINNING CLUB / LOSING CLUB
Preliminary Round £600 £150
First Round Qualifying £1,800 £450
Second Round Qualifying £3,000 £750
Third Round Qualifying £4,000 £1,000
First Round Proper £6,000 £1,500
Second Round Proper £8,000 £2,000
Third Round Proper £35,000 £9,000
Fourth Round Proper £54,000 £13,000
Fifth Round Proper £80,000 £20,000
Quarter Final £90,000 £22,500
Semi Final £160,000 £40,000
Final £430,000 £108,000

DATES OF ROUNDS
Second Round Qualifying Sunday 21 September 2025
Third Round Qualifying Sunday 5 October 2025
First Round Proper Sunday 26 October 2025
Second Round Proper Sunday 23 November 2025
Third Round Proper Sunday 14 December 2025
Fourth Round Proper Sunday 18 January 2026
Fifth Round Proper Sunday 22 February 2026
Quarter Final Sunday 5 April 2026
Semi Final Sunday 10 May 2026
Final Sunday 31 May 2026

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If you have an interest in and views about the women's team then please let us hear your thoughts and suggestions. You can contact us (anonymously if you prefer) via our contact form on our home page or just simply email us at lofcwomen@yahoo.com
We look forward to hearing from you.

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