Fans of Leyton Orient Women

26 March 2026

Thursday Update:

• Gizmo's Brentford Preview
• News snippets
  - Sammy Rowland - Rail closures on Sunday - Our mailbox - Player trials
• Sunday's league and cup games

Gizmo's match preview
GLWFL League Cup, 1/4 final
Leyton Orient vs Brentford B

After a hard-fought win in the league last Sunday against South London First, Orient are back in cup action this weekend. They have a quarter-final match at home against Brentford 'B' in the John Greenacre Memorial Trophy (JGMT for short). Brentford 'B' have spent the season buzzing around Division 1 South and they sit happily top of the division by three points with three games in hand. They reached this stage in the cup with a handy win over Comets and an 8-2 demolition of London Academicals in the last round. This is a team playing consistently above their league level.

Queen bee is Marta Boabonay, from Equatorial Guinea, with 17 goals in 13 appearances. Equally dangerous is Kirsty Mathews with 10 in 9. Leah Robertson has 7 in 6 and a bunch of others have chipped in. Guard bee (goalkeeping) duties are largely shared between Sophie Boycott and Christie Tucker. Ever present in defence has been Alicia Henry, usually joined by Larique McPherson-Laraj. Ava Slade and Freya Morgan are two of the regular midfield workers.

Orient are chasing three titles and will come into this match determined not to let an up-and-coming team get a foothold in the game. Brentford 'B' are probably one of the better teams left in the competition so should not be under-estimated.
The usual gang will be in place for selection, including the new arrivals. Flo Gamby has had an excellent start to her Orient career adding energy and goals to the team. Captain Grace Gillard, central defensive partner Hayley West and keeper Lola Durojaiye will be keen to continue keeping clean sheets. Last Sunday we had the return of Lucy Net - A - Porter and Poppy Binding will continue to either provide opportunities for others or score goals herself. Steph McCaffrey can be counted on to provide a goal.

📷 Denise Clarke Collins

Jason Stephens has made no secret of his wish to make history with this team and the ultimate aim of reaching Tier 2. Brentford Women (their 'A' team) are on a similar journey, although two years ahead of Orient as they are currently in Tier 5 and feature former 'O' Wiktoria Kiszkis in their squad. Although Brentford 'B' will view this game as a free hit, given the quality of the Orient players, there’s only one team that will be taking the pollen back to their hive. 🐝

The match will be played at Cheshunt FC, Theobalds Lane, London EN8, with a 2:00pm kick off.

Gizmo ✍

News Snippets

⚽ What happened there?

This Sunday's Greater London Women's Football League Cup game (Official name: John Greenacre Memorial Trophy - JGMT) is at the quarter-final stage but we never did get to play the previous round (3rd round). Our understanding was that our opponents, AFC Croydon Athletic, could not fulfil the fixture, so we were awarded the win. However, since then, the match has been shown as "postponed" in the league's official website. That did make us wonder but now we note "P" has now been changed to "HW" (Home Win) so into the 1/4 final we go.

⚽ Travel to Cheshunt on Sunday

Ben James advises that TFL is closing the entire Weaver Overground Line this weekend (which runs to Theobalds Grove Stn) although there will be a replacement bus service. The nearest working station is now Waltham Cross, it's about a 20-ish minute walk from the ground, or take a 251 or 310 bus to Theobalds Grove, which will save four minutes.. Greater Anglia trains can be caught from Stratford, Lea Bridge and Tottenham Hale (Victoria Line connection).

Our inbox grows ever busier, we get emails about almost everything which includes a lot of "buy this" spam. We have noticed that the fortunes of the women's team engenders a fair bit of passion among correspondents, some pro - a few anti. Let us know what you think about the women's group and about our coverage of their season. You can contact us (anonymously if you prefer) via our contact form located at the bottom of our 'About' page or just simply email us at lofcwomen@yahoo.com
We look forward to hearing from you. We do read all our mails but we cannot reply or comment to those sent anonymously.

We regularly scan the social media platforms for news and information relevant to our activities, lately we notice that several clubs are already advertising player trials in an attempt to get a head start in the scramble to recruit good players. Orient held trials last summer but we're struggling to identify anyone who got into the squad who wasn't already on the coaching staff's radar. Can you? Let us know.

The much anticipated clash of the giants - also known as the Capital Cup Final - to be played at Dorking on 26th April between ourselves and Hammersmith's first team is currently being shown as a 3:00 pm kick off, an hour later than normal.

Sunday's League and Cup fixtures.

Four Greater London League Cup games (LC) and one Premier League (PL) match are booked for Sunday...

AFC Croydon vs South London

Something of a "dead rubber" this one. South London can no longer catch 2nd placed Tooting Bec in the Premier division so they only have the retention of their 3rd place to play for. AFC Croydon can take it from them, mathematically so too can Luton Dev, but both cases would need a string of extraordinary results to bring it about.
Verdict: South London are too strong to let their status slip, a strong away win.

Civil Service vs Islington Boro

The Civil Service team are a mid-table side in Division One South, they will fancy their chances against Islington who were relegated from the Premier division just last week. The disappointment felt by the north London side may affect their turnout and commitment but that's not something we've ever seen from them.
Verdict: An away win to bring the smiles back to Boro.

Tooting Bec vs Hammersmith 'B'

Whoever wins the Civil Service vs Islington game is likely to face Tooting Bec in the semi-finals. However, Bec's rivals, Hammersmith 'B', have had a great season and have secured the runners-up spot (behind Brentford 'B') in Division One South so this is unlikely to be an easy passage for Bec.
Verdict: Tooting Bec are on a rampaging run, we can't see anyone beating them.

Luton Dev vs Actonians III

Luton Town Development have gone from strength to strength as the season unfolded. A recent 3:1 away win at AFC Croydon is the latest in a string of good results. Actonians' 3rd team are still not absolutely sure of retaining their position in Division One South, Laces-Spartans are seeking to overcome a three point deficit to take the last safe league position currently held by the ladies from Acton.
Verdict: A long trip up the motorway for Actonians to end in disappointment.