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Here is Gizmo's first match preview for the 2025/26 women's season, he takes a look at the changes he sees in the Leyton Orient women's organisation and also looks ahead to Sunday's FA Cup tie against Hitchin Belles FC. Over to you Gizmo....

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Leyton Orient Women kick off the new competitive season with an away trip to the wilds of Hertfordshire for an FA Cup first qualifying round match against a fantastic women’s club: Hitchin Belles (my thanks to Simon White for the information provided).
For Orient, this has been a summer of big changes. Jason Stephens has come in to be the part-time manager and CEO from Hashtag United. Jason is a very experienced and qualified coach with international experience in the US, Australasia, Europe and South America. He also lectures at the University Campus of Football Business and has a sleep deficit. He said that he was attracted by the vision presented to him by the McCaffrey’s and described Orient as a “sleeping giant”. His short-term goals for this year are simple: promotion. In the medium to long-term, depending on your point of view, he wants Orient to reach Tier 3 within five years.
As part of this change, there has been a large turnover of playing staff. Those departing go with our best wishes for the future in their football and off the pitch endeavours. There are too many new arrivals to go through everyone, but a theme of the recruitment has been players arriving from Hashtag United, in Tier 3, to take up this new challenge. One of the first signings was Grace Gillard; a defender who has also captained Hashtag United so should bring leadership as well. She'll be joined by Eva Carvalho, who has youth international experience with Portugal. Listed on the O’s website as a defender, I’ve seen an old interview where she describes herself as a central midfielder. Jade Keogh returns this year in defence and will still be unleashing thunderbolts from distance. Behind them will be a new goalkeeper in Lola Durojaiye, who returns to the club having previously played for the Os until last season.
Up front we’ve gone for nominative determinism in the form of Wiktoria Kiszkis and Wiki Fronc, along with Sammy Rowland. Wiki and Sammy are both ex-Hashtag United and I suspect for Wiki, fitness will not be an issue as she has done an ultra-marathon in the past. In midfield both Esme Lancaster and Ellie Leek-Thomas are very welcome returnees, having done excellent work since joining the club. I should not forget either Gemma Baker and Lucy Porter who are also both returning.
Hitchin Belles was formed in 1999 to provide local girls the opportunity to play football. Since their inception they have grown year on year when in the 2024-2025 season they became the largest female football club in England with 39 youth teams, 2 adult teams and over 600 players from 5 years old through to adult. Their youth teams play in the Hertfordshire Girls Football Partnership league with an approach very much leaning towards football for all rather than trying to follow the 'elite' model.
The Women's team was formed in 2015 and entered the Beds & Herts women’s football league starting out in Division 3 and going on to win the league title that season. They continued in Division 2 up until the 2018-2019 season where the team again won the division and sealed promotion to Division 1. The next few seasons saw the team compete in the Premier division until the end of the 2021-2022 season saw the management team and squad leave to pursue opportunities elsewhere. This started a rebuild with new management, players and the team leaning heavily on the large youth setup available.
Two seasons of consolidation and mid table finishes in the Premier division led up to last season with the team winning the league and cup double & gaining promotion to the Eastern Region Women’s Football League Division 1 north which is at Tier 6 of the football pyramid.
As a club, they are one of only three across the Eastern Region league (Prem, Div 1 North, Div 1 South) who are not affiliated with a men's league/non-league club and so do not have the luxury of access to the facilities and potential financial support that the majority of those we play do (perhaps invite Michelle Kang to come and have a look!).
The team have started solidly enough retaining the majority of last season’s squad and adding some players with experience at this level. Their main aim is to survive in the division this season and to build a base to work from in the next. At this early stage it’s always difficult to assess where everyone will be come May with summer holidays high on the agenda and many of the younger players heading off to university in a few weeks. One loss and one draw in the league is a good return whilst the group get used to the step up in opposition. Holly Thomson has proved to be the main goal threat.
It will be a big occasion for the Belles as it will be their first match played at Hitchin Town FC's stadium, Top Field. This is a great facility and the Belles extend their thanks to Paul and the team at Hitchin Town for enabling them to provide a platform for women's football locally.
This should be a good starting game for Orient, who have a decent pre-season, mainly against higher tier opposition. However, it is one thing to play friendlies and another to play a competitive match. The Belles are looking forward to the game on Sunday and expect a very tough tie against a side which looks to have strengthened considerably. Having the ability to attract players from Tier 3 and 4 to drop down into Tier 7 shows the pull and financial backing of Leyton Orient (Simon’s comment!) and the Belles expect a very tough game. Orient will want to get off to a winning start and, although the league is a priority, they will also want to progress in the cup competitions.

Here's a link to the venue information: How to find us

There is very limited parking, but ample car parks are within a short walking distance. The Lairage multi-story car park (Bedford Road, Hitchin, SG5 1GN) is recommended — just a 5-minute walk to the ground.
The bar will be open for drinks, and the Canary Kitchen will be serving food. Free entry too!

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O's newly appointed skipper, Grace Gillard shared her thoughts about the new-look team at 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 Northampton Town on 30th August. We reproduce it here if you didn't get to see it. Grace writes....
Pre-season has been a period filled with excitement, hard work, and preparation for what promises to be a significant year ahead for us. With many new faces joining the club - from players to management - the focus has been on developing connections and building relationships to prepare for an exciting, fresh start to the Women's team. The ambitions are clear, the team is aiming for promotion and a strong FA Cup run, which starts on Sunday.
On the pitch, pre-season has been successful in laying strong foundations for us. The team has tested itself against higher-level opposition, including Norwich, Dulwich Hamlet, and Fulham, gaining valuable insights from those fixtures. Most recently, a convincing 4-0 win against Tottenham U21s at the new home ground, Cheshunt FC, provided a major confidence boost heading into competitive matches. The final stages of pre-season took the squad to Manchester, where the emphasis was as much on team bonding as it was on training. It was an opportunity to build a shared vision, culture, and collective goals - further strengthening unity and belief within the group. Those few days solidified what this team stands for: resilience, ambition, and togetherness.
Now, there is a real buzz around the squad. Everyone is eager to get started, and there's no better way to begin the journey than with the FA Cup. It's a competition rich in history and magic, and for this group, it's more than just participation; it's about making a statement and showcasing what the team is capable of.
Our campaign kicks off against Hitchin Belles Women FC, a team from a higher tier, at 2pm on Sunday, 7th September, at {Hitchin Town FC's stadium, "Top Field"} in Hitchin. This fixture will lead into the first league game on the 14th of September against Islington Borough.
The atmosphere on and off the pitch is electric, and the team is determined to channel that energy into performances that reflect its identity and aspirations. As a group, we're buzzing to get started. We've worked hard throughout pre-season, and already we've built something truly special. The goals are clear, we've prepared ourselves to win. We're ready to give everything, enjoy every moment, and make as much noise as possible along the way.

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... for getting their names wrong in last week's update. So many new faces and so many hard knocks to my brain over so many years meant I mis-heard the names in the short interviews on the video of the team event at Manchester recently. It doesn't help that we cannot talk to anyone at the club but that's the downside of being an independent fan's website. Maybe one day eh?

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We are indebted again to the kind person who shot this great little video of the ladies during training, many of them were asked "what's your favourite thing about this team?" - The answers go to show how well the new group has knitted together. It is available on Instagram - which is OK if you have an Instagram account. If you don't, here's a low-res version, freely available to all on YouTube. Click the image of first team coach Wayne Rothon (below) to view it.

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Three of our fellow GLWFL premier division clubs were in FA Cup action last week, this was a preliminary round of the competition which helps to whittle the numbers of clubs down to arrive at an even knock-out ladder as the competition progresses. The results were as follows:-
FA Cup preliminary round games:
24/08/2025

Islington Boro	0 : 4	London Accies
Tonbridge	(5)0 : 0(3)	AFC Croydon

Our old Premier division competitors , Islington Borough Ladies IBLFC), took on newly promoted London Academicals in a preliminary round of the FA Cup on 24th August. Having won the game, the "Accies" now go on to play in the first FA Cup qualifying round away at Chelmsford City this Sunday 7th September.
IBLFC have had a torrid time this summer which saw them lose many of their players to a newly formed team down at Tier nine in the Greater London Women's League Division two (north) called "Fusion FC". We understand their founder and club secretary has also resigned although is not part of the breakaway club. A 4:0 home defeat to the Accies takes on a very different context in the light of what has happened to the North London women's club. It's difficult to see where they will get points in the up-coming premier division contest although they have done well against us over the last two seasons having won 2, drawn 1 and only lost only once to us. As it happens, IBLFC will be our first league opponents, we're away at theirs on 14th September.
The other club promoted into the GLWFL premier division is AFC Croydon Athletic who took on Tonbridge Angels from the South East Counties Women's Football League Premier Division (also a Tier seven league). The game ended goal-less but it was Angels who went through courtesy of a 5:3 penalty shoot-out victory.
Here's the list of First Qualifying Round games this Sunday 7th September which involve GLWFL Premier division teams (Shown with a *) plus one league game:-

Cup	Bradwell St Peter	- v -	AFC Leyton*
Cup	London Accies*	- v -	Chelmsford City
Cup	Hitchin Belles	- v -	Leyton Orient*
Cup	Comets*	- v -	Greenwich Boro
Cup	Merstham	- v -	Tooting Bec*
Cup	South London*	- v -	Carshalton Ath
Lge	Sporting Duet*	- v -	Luton Town Dev*

Of course, we'll bring you all the results on Monday.

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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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