Orient Continue Their Unbeaten Run in the League Against Islington Borough

Leyton Orient hosted Islington Borough at Brisbane Road in the Greater London Women’s Football League Premier Division, where Ellie Thomas-Leek broke the deadlock to earn the O’s all three points.

In the opening half, the O’s had the dominant attacking possession but couldn’t quite fully break down the defence. Attempts were seen from Jordan Feldman and Steph McCaffrey as well as efforts from range by Jade Keogh, but none were quite able to reach the back of the net.

In the beginning 15 minutes, Ellie Thomas-Leek searched for McCaffrey but her pass proved to be slightly too high. Kira Honour had her first touch of the game, taking hold of an Islington attack. A chance came for Feldman from a corner, but was over the bar. Thomas-Leek and Gemma Baker were next to test the visiting keeper, with the former having her free kick saved and the latter hitting a strong shot, but did not make it past the Borough stopper.

Nearing the half hour point, McCaffrey was in a dangerous position to attack, but didn’t quite strike it well enough to test Kelly in goal for the visitors. Feldman had another attempt at goal but didn’t trouble the away keeper.

As half time was approaching, Islington sent a looping effort goal bound but Honour was able to comfortably collect the ball. The visitors were then awarded a corner fairly soon after but again the O’s keeper made a save to deny the travelling side.

As Esme Lancaster began to appear in more of an attacking position, penalty appeals from Orient were shrugged off. Half-chances then came for Feldman, Liliana Almeida and McCaffrey but the deadlock continued.

The biggest chance appeared five minutes before the break when Feldman did a brilliant job to win a high ball from the opposition’s defender, before sending a perfect pass to McCaffrey. But as the latter went to shoot, the visitor’s defence was able to take the ball out of the Orient forward’s path.

Lancaster then bursted into the box moments before the break and sent a pass across the area, but there was nobody in an Orient shirt there to receive the ball.

Half-Time: Leyton Orient 0-0 Islington Borough

The hosts were quick off the mark after half time with McCaffrey having a glimpse at goal, however, her chance lacked the desired power. As the sides continued to search for the opener, Almeida was next to pile the pressure on the visitors. After skillfully accepting a pass, she stormed her way into the box when a Borough defender brought her down, giving Orient a potential chance to take the lead with a penalty.

McCaffrey was the one to step up to the spot, but her penalty bounced off the post, giving the Borough defence the opportunity to clear the rebound.

Only two minutes later, the hosts continued to test their chances with Baker finding Almedia on an attacking run, with a volley that wasn’t able to reach the back of the net. In the 80th minute, Orient were finally able to break the stalemate. Thomas-Leek was able to find Feldman in the box who aimed for goal, but her shot was blocked. However, Thomas-Leek was there for the ball to fall to tap the ball home.

Despite the away side fighting hard to equalise in the time remaining, the home defence remained tough to keep their clean sheet and pick up all three points

Starting Lineups:

Leyton Orient: Alexander, Almeida, Chitate-Samuriwo, Feldman, Honour(GK), Baker, Keogh, Lancaster, Thomas-Leek, McCaffrey, Whale

Islington Borough: Breznica, Brunyee, Fadeni, Glen, Grainger, Kelly (GK), Niper, Scott, Short, Stanley, Vaz.