We were nervous about this fixture as we didn’t know what to expect from Braintree. They were second to us in the league and had had some good results leading into the game. We had also been dealing with illness and injury in the team leading into the game so we were thankful that we made it to Saturday with a squad of 14. Coach Claire ‘Shrimpie’ Pandor was unfortunately unable to play due to sustaining a knee injury but this meant that we had her technical and tactical knowledge on the bench. Sam Gayler returned from injury and Helena Percy made her debut for the team. We also had Laura Blatter join us in defence for the first time this season.

We started the game with positive intentions. From the ‘Loughts’ shout at the beginning of the game it was clear we meant business - it was a shout loud enough to wake all the ghosts and ghouls on Halloween! We started quickly and set the pace of the game well. The forwards were fast to set the press and with great guidance from Molly at the back it was clear our press was going to be difficult to break. We have worked hard on our press this season and that work is paying off. We overturned the ball several times, and within the first 5 mins had already had several shots on goal. 7 minutes into the game, Claire brought on super sub, Helena, and with a fantastic lead run at centre forward, she received a pass at the top of the attacking circle, took on the keeper and slotted the ball past her for her first goal of the game. Not only was this her first goal but it was also her first touch of the game! What a way to impress on your team that you deserved your selection into the squad!

From there on the tone of the game was set. We just didn’t stop putting pressure on the Braintree defence. And at 15 mins into the game we had our second goal provided by the goal machine that is Jemimah Ramchurn. Every team member worked hard to keep us pressed up and stop Braintree from getting anywhere near our goal. Talisa were her usual stalwart self and controlled the bottom of the diamond with ease and distributed wide to the halves to enable us to continue to penetrate play down the wide channels. Ella and Sylvie worked well together on the right side with strong tackles and accurate balls to the attackers. And Heather and Sam did the same on the left side of the pitch. We really looked unbeatable. At 29 mins into the first half we cemented this belief when Helena netted her second goal of the game and took us into half time 3-0 up.

The half time team talk was very much keep doing the same - press hard, work hard and play fast to continue to hold Braintree to account. And that’s what we did. Within 5 mins of the start of the second half, Jemimah had scored her second goal of the game. A great draw of the keeper and she tipped it over her. This was swiftly followed by her third goal at just over 42 minutes to seal her hat trick in the game. The assist for this goal was provided by a fantastic run by Sylvie from right back, to Ella who drove the ball with pace into the circle. Jemimah did well again to draw the keeper and popped the ball into the goal.

We continued to play strongly for rest of the game and we were unrelenting in our attacks. Braintree struggled to defend against them and in particular against Daisy Johnson’s dangerous dribbling attacks. So much so that the Braintree GK took Daisy out at the top of the circle on one attack to give away a penalty corner to Loughts. This started a succession of penalty corner’s and the last one we finally scored off. Lara Williams took advantage of the break down and with quick thinking she reverse hit the ball like a rocket to score our sixth goal of the game at 63 mins. As well as scoring the goal it was great to hear all the cheers from the sideline as by this time the W3s seemed to have amassed a big crowd on the sideline - that’s the advantage of playing on the ‘show pitch’.

We finished with a win of 6-0. This was definitely our best game of the season so far. We played with pace, intent and positivity. And most importantly we believed in each other and it was a real team effort. Well done everyone. 7 out of 7 games won, 21 points, and 5 points clear at the top of the league. We march on against Havering 2s next week.

Woman of the week - Helena Percy - for having a magnificent debut for the 3s.

DoD - Daisy Johnson - for falling over the GK. Yes, we know it wasn’t deliberate but it was funny!

Special mentions go to Laura Blatter for a strong performance in defence and to Sam Gayler for returning from injury (it’s not easy to do) and also putting in a strong performance in defence. And to Emily Houghton for another clean sheet in goal!