Brentford Women’s B Team have had a successful campaign so far and are well on track for promotion from the Greater London Women’s Football League Division One North.

After finishing fourth in the league last year, Tommy Ryan-Maynard’s side are eager to move up to the Premier Division come the end of the season.

The Head Coach gives insight into how he feels his team have performed so far.

“I’ve been really happy with the players during the first half of the season, we have put ourselves into a very good position in the table and have battled hard every game.

“There has been a lot of positives, we have had a number of players progress to the first team this year and that is something we are really proud of.

“All the staff across the First Team and B Team want everyone to reach the highest level possible, so to see some of the player’s get involved with the First Team it’s a great feeling.”

The Bees showed a perfect example of the attacking-minded football they play on the first game of the 2022/23 season. Goals from Captain, Kasey Clifford, Ruby Sumpter, Calli Weaver, Cheyenne Faulkner and Holly Hawkes ensured an emphatic 5-0 victory against local rivals, Actonians Thirds at the B Team’s home ground, Bedfont Sports Club.

Ryan-Maynard’s team sent a statement to the rest of their league after they travelled to Tower Hamlets in their next fixture coming away 4-1 winners. A victory against a side who have been consistent performers in the Division for two years, put the B Team right up there with the likes of Leyton Orient as title challengers.

However, a loss against East London ladies was tough to take after what had been such a promising start. The away team put on a strong defensive performance and after getting an early goal against the run of play, East London managed to soak up the Brentford pressure and leave Bedfont Sports Club with all three points.

Despite the defeat, Ryan-Maynard believes it may have been a blessing in disguise.

“Obviously we want to win every game, but I think after a good start we may have got slightly carried away, so the loss to East London reminded the players they cannot afford to have a bad day in this league.

“I believe we have the best talent in the division in terms of players, but we can’t allow ourselves to switch off and I think that game was a big wake-up call for us.”

The B Team didn’t let this defeat dishearten them and went into their next match even more focused on putting their promotion hopes back on track. They did this in excellent fashion beating AFC Leyton 4-0 at home, this was followed up with their best result of the season, thrashing Luton Town Reserves 8-0.

The B Team completely dominated Luton from start to finish, top scorer Clifford, was at the double along with defender, Madeline Heavingham Ford and goals from Faulkner, Weaver, Charlotte Halpin and a competitive debut goal from Ronica Musi ended what was a perfect day for the side.

The big win against Luton set them up perfectly for their title clash against rivals Leyton Orient. A goal on five minutes from Hawkes ensured the Bees got off to the perfect start but Orient fought back, levelling the score line before going into half time. Clifford, who has been a standout performer for Ryan-Maynard’s side this season, scored a brilliant goal as she put her team 2-1 up following an exquisite free-kick which flew into the top corner from 20 yards. Despite the strong performance from the Bees, two second-half goals from the league leaders saw the spectacle end 3-2 in Orient’s favour and left the B Team disappointed after what was always going to be a tough game.

The women’s teams pride themselves on working hard and always giving everything despite the result. Following the loss to Leyton Orient back in October, the B Team bounced back with five wins in a row before the Christmas break, with Ryan-Maynard’s favourite victory over this period coming in the 3-2 Capital Cup win over Ruislip Rangers.

“To be 2-1 down at half-time and losing against a team who play in the division above us, the players showed unbelievable fight and determination to get the win.

“I remember feeling so proud of the team that day, Ruislip did their best to put us off our game, but this didn’t distract us and we conducted ourselves in a professional manner, fighting to the end, as Head Coach that’s all I can ask for.”

Clifford scored nine times over the five-game winning streak and has been massively influential all season.

Speaking on Clifford, Ryan Maynard said: “Kasey is excellent for us and is such a leader on the pitch, she has been key to a lot of our success this season.

“Her communication on and off the pitch has been brilliant and she has shown why she deserves to have the armband.”

The Women’s B Team will aim to continue their winning streak in the new year as the battle for promotion continues but Ryan-Maynard ensures he is already proud of his players.

“It has been a great year for us overall and the players in the B Team have been brilliant.

“As a team we are obviously aiming for promotion but it will also be great if some more of the girls are able to break into the first-team set-up in 2023.”