Report
Memory serves but it is not always comfortable. Last season Hitchin battled to a prestigious away win at Westwood Road and that win was the harbinger of dreadful results and a free fall of the team into the relegation zone. Those consistently bad results both home and away still mystify us, and today we looked for a change.
Michael Jones, now installed as manager was aware of the challenges and sent out his team that had Snee starting and Chidyausiku on the bench. The Saints turned out in black and white stripes with Hitchin in the customary purple away kit.
Early moves proved innocuous as the players settled on the good quality artificial pitch. An early free kick for Hitchin went nowhere and neither did the next plotted home attack. Smith’s long throw suggested that this would be a feature of the game. Hitchin essayed a couple of speculative long balls that were defended, and a conceded corner won a free kick.
St Ives sent in their own free kick which resulted in a Hitchin counter where a neat Franklin touch found no connection in the box. Luke Stokoe and Snee created a chance that was defended but the move was a good one. Had had a good run which was spoiled by Stacey but then Will Glennon took his chance with a fine shot, and this put the Saints into the lead after fifteen minutes. There had been little to choose between the teams up to this point.
Hadi had another inspired piece of play and got his shot away, but it was comfortable for Stacey. Standard defending was keeping Hitchin at bay, but Franklin, managing all the hard stuff played a poor final pass. This represented Hitchin’s best chance so far, then the Saints had a real let off when Daniel Stokoe’s effort rolled on the the underside of the cross bar but refused to trickle over the line for the equaliser.
There was a Tearle free kick that saw Syme head firmly but wide. Sambou was becoming more involved as Hitchin pressed further up the pitch. Allen won a free kick on the edge of the area for the Saints. There was a four-man defensive wall, and the ball was deflected harmlessly back to Stacey.
One attack on the right was superbly defended but back came Hitchin but Snee was caught offside. Tearle’s pass to Snee was highly suggestive but defended and Hitchin’s minor inaccuracies were proving a little frustrating. A long throw from the left saw a St Ives header go wide we had reached thirty-seven it was discomforting that Hitchin had played well enough for an equaliser but had yet to gather another golden chance.
More long balls went forward, more in hope., but no-one could hold them up or lay them off. Franklin was eager but found himself outdone. Then there was a very neat second goal of decent quality scored again by Glennon who slipped the ball in along the ground following a perfect pass from a persistent attack along the left, where possession ought not to have been regained. This goal came after forty-four minutes and of course this gave Hitchin a burden to bear.
Only two minutes were added, and it gave time to reflect what a disappointing half this was for Hitchin whose one real chance ought to have seen the equaliser. As it was the visitors left the field for the interval two goals to the bad.
The restart saw a good bit of home possession and alertness to any Hitchin move forward. Snee was denied a shot, and the hosts again won a free kick in a good strategic position. This was taken by Meade, and it proved a poor one but then came another opportunity and this time Meade put it into the box and Stacey held the header.
Defensive fragility gave way to a Hitchin attack that fizzled out too quickly. Some lamentable passing followed this, and it seemed unlikely that the Canaries could battle even to secure a point. One half- hearted attack brought a free kick which Tearle sent in for a Syme header and Luke Stokoe danced in the box to get a shot away, but he was off target.
Home substitutes were being prepared but not yet from the visitors. Tearle’s headed wide from an Ekongo cross, and the next effort involved too many passes before possession was lost. St Ives put on two substitutes within a minute band then Snee pulled one back in a bizarre looking entanglement with home keeper Wilkes who lost possession and Snee rolled it home. We had played about an hour and therefore there was hope. There was also a decent bit of Hitchin pressure that needed to be sustained.
Tearle won a corner and almost a bit more, but the ball was cleared from the line. There was a bit more urgency as well. Tearle’s inviting cross found no claimant and Allen really ought to have scored with his chance with just Stacey to beat. In his next effort he was well offside. We had reached seventy – five minutes and promising moves gave way to yet another a Glennon goal, following an attack on right. No problem with the man of the match then.
Then former Hitchin man Coree Wilson came on for the hosts and this was followed by yet another substitute. Bell and Dixon- Smith were on as well.
But it began to look now that this game was well beyond Hitchin who will really want to question the ease at which the opposition had scored. Dixon- Smith had one blocked. A foul was committed in the opposition box and there was little to be cheerful about as we entered time added on.
Snee did put one in the net, but the offside flag had been raised imperiously. The parting shots were of no real consequence and Hitchin remained anchored in a relegation spot and with each game the task will be increasingly difficult unless there is a dramatic change of fortune.
It must be mentioned that at 2-1 down, Hitchin looked good for a short while for a second goal, but it did not come. There was just not enough bite in the Hitchin attack, and some questions may well be addressed as regards a generally below par performance.
St Ives
Wilks, Mensah, (Adegbola), Smith, Meade, (Skyers), Williams, Collard, captain, Gyamfi, (Abimbola), Glennon, HAT TRICK, 1-0, 15, 2-0, 43, 3-0, 79, Man of the Match, Hadi, (Wilson), Allen, (O’Keefe), Creary.
Hitchin
Stacey, Franklin, (Dixon- Smith), Ekongo, Sambou, Syme, cautioned, Jones, captain, Tearle, L Stokoe, (Chidyausiku), Snee, GOAL, 68, 2-1, D Stokoe, (Bell), Titchmarsh, cautioned. (Barker). Substitute not used- Gleeson.
Referee- Mr M Friend, assisted by Mr R Manning and Mr T Yildiztepe.
Attendance 330
REPORT BY PIPEMAN