O’s manager Chris Brayford’s side sit fourth in the FA Women’s National League South East Division One, and Lisa Fulgence believes a cup-run can only compliment their league exploits:
“It just keeps us going. Yes, they (AFC Phoenix) are the league below but they’re a good side in the league below. We’re expected, I guess, to win these games and then in the next cup game we might get a team in the lower division, but we might get a team in our division. It’s just an extra game to get out the stuff we are learning in training. I’m not saying it doesn’t matter, because cups matter to us, it’s a time where we can trial stuff we might not want to do in a league game because it means we might lose points.”
Early Stumble
If the score-line suggests an air of plain sailing, the opening 10 minutes was anything but. Phoenix, who ply their trade in the division below Orient, shocked the O’s after breaking the deadlock through Raquel Arevalo’s lofted effort with six minutes on the clock.
However, their lead was extremely short-lived as Orient conjured a route back into the match just one minute later. Hayley Barton’s drilled cross found Sophie Le Marchand who was perfectly positioned to slot home an equaliser from six yards out.
Some of Orient’s positive traits include the spirit, character and personnel within the squad. Falling behind, however briefly, could have been costly for the O’s on another day and Fulgence believes her side need to show greater authority in these games:
“We shouldn’t have to go behind to start, but it gives us an edge to say ‘do you know what, we’re better than this’. We can win games like this, but we should be winning them seven, eight nil. The two goals we gave away were scrappy goals, they didn’t open us up, they didn’t do what other teams can do in our league. We need to make sure we cut out the little mistakes, but hopefully we can start to win these games comfortably.”
Rapid Recovery
After levelling the tie, Orient began to stake their claim on proceedings and looked to be growing in confidence. This paid dividends when they turned the game on its head, taking the lead with 20 minutes played.
Le Marchand turned provider by lifting the ball into Barton, whose attempted lob was pounced upon by Fulgence who tapped into an empty net putting Orient on the front foot for the first time.
On 23 minutes, the O’s were gifted the chance of a third goal when the referee penalised Phoenix for handball and pointed to the penalty spot. Captain Danielle Griffiths stepped up and coolly dispatched into the bottom left corner to give the O’s a 1-3 lead at the break.
Brayford appeared positively animated during the half time team talk, which took place on the far side of the pitch, and Fulgence shed some light on his message for the second half:
“He was animated in the case of, we’re doing the right things but we’re also missing little basics. It’s making sure we cover each other, if one goes out someone else comes in, just making sure we are making the right movements. If we’re in this position, this is what we need to do, just little bits of information that when you’re on the pitch you can forget, and you just go in to game mode and forget what you’ve learnt at training all week. He was just reminding us of certain things we need to be doing.”
Hat-Trick Hero
With one swift flick, Fulgence stole the show on the hour mark with an audacious finish for her second goal of the afternoon. Barton’s cross was behind Fulgence, who performed a splendid back-heel volley which dropped into the far corner of the net.
At 4-1 up, Orient welcomed a new addition to the squad, Camila Pescatore, who enjoyed an impressive debut after coming off the bench with 20 minutes to play. Meanwhile, Rebecca Hirst and Valeria Moreno were rewarded with first-team minutes in the closing stages.
The O’s put the icing on the cake 15 minutes from time when Fulgence tussled with her marker, winning possession and rolling the ball underneath Phoenix goalkeeper Louis Marie to claim the match ball.
Despite Natalia Mann netting a late consolation for the hosts, the acclaim fell the way of Fulgence who was delighted about adding to her personal tally:
“I’m happy, it’s been a couple of games where I haven’t scored. Today was nice, the first goal was an easy tap-in, the second goal I can’t complain at all, the third goal was nice because it was a through ball, little struggle with the defender and actually composed to shoot and score, so three different types of goals and I’m happy!”
Cup Run?
On a pleasant mid-October afternoon, the O’s progressed through a competition in which they reached the semi-final stage last season.
Before the match, captain Danielle Griffiths expressed a desire to go one-step further and reach the final this year, as the O’s look for their first silverware since the treble winning 2016-17 season.
