Hutton 1-2 Southend United Ladies: Stack and Jones decide a closer test

After the 9-0 win at Hashtag United Women Development, I wanted to see Southend United Ladies’ confidence hold in closer games. A 2-1 Plate victory at Hutton supplied an encouraging answer, earning a quarter-final place and a fourth successive win.

Abbie Rex hit the bar from Georgia Hyland’s cross after 27 minutes. Sophie Stack and substitute Tilly Jones supplied the goals. Stack reached Amber Denton’s ball out of defence and finished beneath Jessica Balbi; Jones converted Hannah Warner’s diagonal. Her first Southend goal, on her fourth appearance, followed Stack’s opener by four minutes. Emma Savill pulled a goal back for Hutton in added time, and Southend held on.

Southend player Katie Burbridge’s written account, read by Sensei Phil on the 26 October podcast, described a battling win in very windy conditions. She highlighted Jones’s left-footed strike and Stack’s fourth scoring game in succession. Daniel Mann, in interim charge, made five starting changes. New goalkeeper Libby Mason made her debut, with Lauren Johnson, Denton, Warner and Hyland also coming in. Molly Lee was not in the squad.

Denton and Warner, both recalled by Mann, supplied the passes for the goals. I would give those selection decisions credit: Southend got decisive help from the players brought back into the starting side and the player introduced during the game, while Stack’s scoring run continued.

The sequence includes a second win over Hutton, following the 2-0 league victory earlier in October. The 1-0 at AFC Sudbury Reserves and 9-0 county-cup win at Hashtag Development complete four victories across three competitions, with 14 goals and one conceded. The run now includes the assurance of a big cup win and the work needed to come through tighter matches. Southend will travel to Needham Market for the Plate quarter-final on 29 November.

Toby away on Sunday

Southend, fourth on 12 points from seven games, return to Division One South at Toby Women. Toby are eighth on eight points from six fixtures: the awarded win at Hutton and five matches played.

Their recent home results include a 5-4 league win over Wormley Rovers and a 6-2 county-cup win over Leigh Ramblers, followed by a 3-0 League Cup defeat to Watford Ladies Development. If involved on Sunday, Georgia Fraser is a player to watch after her two goals against Wormley. Toby have been scoring at home and conceding too, giving Southend reason to expect a test of their defending while continuing to look for chances.

Next match: Toby Women v Southend United Ladies. Competition: Eastern Region Women’s Football League Division One South. Kick-off: Sunday 1 November 2026, 3pm GMT. Venue: Bobby Moore Sports Hub, Parsloes Park, Dagenham RM9 5PU.

Match details

Score: Hutton 1-2 Southend United Ladies. Half-time: 0-0.

Competition: Eastern Region Women’s Football League Plate, second round. Date: Sunday 25 October 2026. Kick-off: 1.30pm GMT. Venue: Flints Community Ground, Shenfield.

Goals (club report’s timings): Southend: Stack (48), Jones (52). Hutton: Savill (90+2).

Southend: Libby Mason, Georgia Hyland, Abbie Rex, Sophie Stack, Hannah Warner, Abbey Dell, Maizie Kelly, Amber Denton, Lauren Johnson (captain), Jodie Murphy, Isobel Boyd.

Substitutes used: Katie Burbridge, Morgan Fletcher, Reyes Humbles, Tilly Jones, Zoe Tryfonos.

Substitutions (club report): Tryfonos for Dell (46); Jones for Kelly (46; the team line gives 52); Humbles for Hyland, Burbridge for Murphy and Fletcher for Boyd (63). Returning starters: Kelly for Stack (86); Boyd for Fletcher (88); Dell for Rex and Hyland for Johnson (90).

Hutton: Jessica Balbi, Sophie Barrington, Lois Dunbar, Daisy Leech, Ava Little, Trixie Millington, Tayla Murrell, Leah Pope, Rowena Roberts, Emma Savill, Daisy Schofield.

Hutton substitutes: Mia Lempriere, Leyla Soyer; Kate Ayers unused.

Officials: Sophie Mason, James Holloway, Laurentiu Postelnicu. Attendance: Not published.