CHAIRMAN’S PROGRAMME NOTES – MARCH AND APRIL 2026

Whilst I would encourage everyone to continue to buy our fantastic matchday programme (thanks to Mick and Peter alongside all the contributors for the countless hours of work that goes into it), I will also now provide a copy of my programme notes at the end of each month so they are available to a wider audience here on our website. So here we have the notes from February’s  programmes:

Aylesbury United – 21st March 2026

I honestly do not know where this season has gone! Unbelievably we now only have four home league fixtures remaining. What an incredible season it has already proven to be, and there is clearly even more to come yet. We have a huge run in in the league as we continue to chase promotion and the potential prospect of two play-off fixtures ahead too. Whilst in the Herts Senior Cup we are delighted to have reached the Final and look forward to competing against either Bishops Stortford or St Albans City.

Your support truly has been outstanding throughout both at home and away – it really does make a difference. I have enjoyed seeing how much everyone has enjoyed our performances this season and it really does feel like the club have all pulled together. Thank you for your support so far and I look forward to it continuing over the coming month as we head towards the end of the season. There couldn’t be a better time to bring some friends along with you to show them what Hitchin Town FC is all about.

It was great to receive the below following our trip to Hertford to face Enfield:

Dear Hitchin FC
I’m sending you this email regarding your fans on Friday 6th March for your away game v Enfield played at Hertford FC.
Both my grandsons were mascots for the game and your fans, who were young as well, were fantastic to my grandsons. Their ages are 7 and 10 years old. At half time they had a little kick about with your fans behind the goal. The cheers and encouragement every time they kicked the ball was a real credit to them and Hitchin FC. They help make it a happy day to remember.
It’s not possible for me to thank them but via this email I can thank you. They were an honest credit to your club which I will remember for a long time. So I hope you don’t mind me contacting you but I had to, just to say a true heartfelt thank you. I hope you get promoted and have an even better season next season.
Yours sincerely
Neil

Please continue to support positively and make the club proud of the way our fans behave both at Top Field and when we visit other clubs.

Please be mindful of the club’s code of conduct and remember that pyrotechnics and entry onto the pitch are very serious offences that we won’t tolerate as a club and can lead to significant fines.

London Lions – 03rd April 2026

We are into the final month of the season and we need every single one of you behind us for the next few games. You have been outstanding throughout the season and it is fantastic to see crowds such as the 946 we had at the Aylesbury game. We really do want to keep rewarding you with outstanding performances for the team and look to achieve our goal for the season, even if that may now be looking more likely to be via the play-offs.

The positivity and momentum around the club this season has helped attract a lot of additional interest in all things Hitchin Town from the local community and the wider footballing world. We are really pleased to be able to welcome Jay Rosa to today’s game. Jay is a football freestyler with some very impressive tricks in his repertoire. Jay has a focus on using football as a tool to inspire and engage young people including at his Hertfordshire based Football Freestyle Academy which provides young people with structured training in freestyle football skills alongside education in teamwork, confidence and mental wellbeing.

Jay takes time out of his EFL tour for Mind to visit Top Field today.  He is currently in the middle of a mission to perform at every EFL stadium in the country to raise awareness and money for the charity Mind. We are sure you will be wowed by his tricks, and we would like to thank Jay for taking the time to visit today. To donate to his EFL tour visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/efltour

Check out more from Jay on social media @jayrosa1_

MK Irish – 11th April 2026

What a Good Friday that was at Top Field. The sun shone and a fantastic crowd of 893 came out to see an assured 3-0 win over London Lion. Huge thanks to the band of volunteers who made the matchday run so smoothly even with the addition of the fantastic Sir Gareth Southgate and his BBC camera crew. It was a real please to welcome Sir Gareth to Top Field, he started the afternoon with a chat in the dressing room and it was clear the players were really excited to be part of hosting an ex England player and manager to Top Field. Throughout the afternoon many of you got the chance to talk to him and get lots of photos. We hope you are enjoyed a celebrity visit to Top Field as much as we did. The team did exactly what was needed on the pitch with 3 goals and a clean sheet to start our bank holiday weekend.

It has been a really busy March with lots of work already needed to plan and prepare for next season whilst keeping everything moving for this season. April is shaping up to be an even busier month with the prospect of play-offs to “look forward to” at the end of the month. We are also delighted to host the Garden House Hospice Cup on Sunday 19th April and look forward to seeing lots of Hitchin Town fans at this great event. (For full details see the advert in the programme or our website next week).

Before all of that we also have the Herts Senior Cup Final at Top Field this Tuesday (14th April). We are delighted the Herts FA have decided to continue to host the final at Top Field and we look forward to welcoming Bishops Stortford for what is sure to be a tough match but a chance for us to secure some silverware for the season. I hope it will be a packed out crowd on Tuesday to get behind the team.

Thank you as always for such amazing support.

Thame United – 25th April 2026

What a fantastic week for Hitchin Town FC. On Tuesday night it was absolutely amazing to get to see the team lifting the Herts Senior Challenge Cup trophy for the first time in 10 years. A tightly contested match against a good Step 3 Bishop’s Stortford team ended 0-0. What followed was a very high quality penalty shootout in which, after a great save from Tyler McGregor, Blue Joy was able to step up and win the shoot out 10-9. I was so proud to see the team celebrating the win and hope this is the start of the recognition they will receive for such a great season. Huge thanks to the supporters for filling Top Field on a Tuesday night to cheer on the team and to join them in celebrating a win.

We then returned to Southern League action on Saturday at Northwood. Several changes to the squad as Michael looks to rotate players over the next fortnight, however the win was well executed. The 2-0 result ensured our second place in the league table and our home advantage for the play-offs was secured. Well done to Taylor Rhiney who reached 30 goals on Saturday. It has been a long time since we have been able to celebrate a Hitchin Town player achieving this milestone.

Then on Sunday we were proud to host the Garden House Hospice Cup for the second year. This magnificent event really does highlight what Hitchin Town FC is all about and that is all things good about the community. It was fantastic to see Top Field absolutely packed on Sunday with people enjoying such a wide range of activities throughout the day. Huge well done to Roger Levett, the event organiser and a huge thanks to Jack Wilshere who once again gave up his day to attend.
On top of all this, I have been working closely with our team of volunteers to organise what will be one (hopefully two) of the biggest matches we have hosted for a number of years. There is a lot of co-ordination required with the authorities and planning needed for the play-off matches to make sure they run as smoothly as all of our other matches at Top Field. So huge thanks to the team involved in making it happen and I can’t wait to welcome everyone on Wednesday 29th April for the Play-off Semi Final!!!

The Play-offs – 29th April & 4th May 2026

What a season it has been for Hitchin Town FC! Speaking to fans I am sure you have all enjoyed it as much as I have. Whatever happens over the next week we should all be rightly proud of the achievements of the team. Only a truly exceptional season from Leighton Town stood between the team securing the number one spot. We are proud to have had the strongest defence in the league and to have scored over 100 league goals going into the final league match on the 25th April. In most previous seasons the performance we have witnessed this season would have been enough to secure the title. It now comes down to the play-offs and I am sure whatever the result on Wednesday night (and hopefully on Monday if we have progressed to the final) you will still be there cheering on the team and celebrating all they have achieved across the season. Well done to Michael and his staff and the players captained by Ciaren.

Alongside everything on the pitch I am equally proud of all of our volunteers and our supporters for continuing to grow the club across the course of the season. For some teams relegation is seen as a dark and depressing time. At Hitchin Town the volunteers, supporters and wider community have all worked together this year to make the season bigger and better than ever. Our crowds have grown by almost 20% and there is a real buzz about the club and about what is going on at the club from the wider Hitchin community. I am pleased to get enquiries every week from businesses and organisations in the town that recognise this and want to find ways to work together. The atmosphere at our games both home and away has been great and I hope this season has helped to build the next generation of Hitchin Town supporters. The number of hours invested by our volunteers appears to know no end and we are always able to deliver what we aim to achieve and maintain the best pitch and some of the best facilities in the league.

I must also say thanks to our commercial partners and sponsors, again, despite relegation the level of support from these businesses has also grown across the course of this season. We truly could not do it without you.

Please adhere to our code of conduct and display behaviours we require at our matches. Organising and delivering these matches is difficult enough for our volunteers without having the challenge of unacceptable behaviour. Use of smoke bombs/pyrotechnics and entry on to the field of play are both extremely serious offences and will lead to severe sanctions for the club and potential bans for any individuals involved. So please support positively, respectfully and get behind the team to make the most of that home advantage. I look forward to seeing everyone in 2 months time for pre-season as we prepare for whatever league we will find ourselves in.