Report
“Gutted’’—that was the reaction of manager Michael Jones after Biggleswade snatched a 94th minute equalizer to deprive Hitchin of a deserved three points. He said he was very proud of our performance , thought we were the better side and dominated the game. But again we did not take our chances and Biggleswade are a good side and were top of the table for a reason.
After our abject display at Biggleswade in the FA Trophy it was noticeable from the very start how much more we competed for every ball and played some good passing football. The only change from Saturday saw Fernando Bell-Toxtle replace Josh Caldicot-Stevens and there was a confident start. Liam Brooks had a good run in the 18th minute while Josh Jackman produced a dangerous cross after good work by Brooks. Jackman then had a shot deflected for a corner before Blade Earley made a great save from a close range Callum Kane shot.
Lawrie Marsh shot wide from Biggleswade’s best chance before Brooks went close after a Tearle cross. Jackman was just wide with a shot before the half time whistle but the half ended without a goal. The second half saw Hitchin continue to probe with Tearle and Bell-Toxtle both coming close. Lewis Franklin replaced Charlie Briggs after 59 minutes while Cole Butler came on for Brooks. Hitchin got the breakthrough they deserved after 74 minutes after a great cross by Franklin was finished by George Morrall to the great delight of the large contingent of Hitchin supporters.
Biggleswade did not give up and the Marsh brothers were always causing problems. But Hitchin seemed comfortable until the fifth minute of injury time when Kane was judged to have brought down a Biggleswade player in the area. Alex Marsh made no mistake with a hard hit penalty and denied Hitchin victory.
Disappointing as the late equalizer was there were many positives to take from the game. We played good football and dominated a very good side. If we can just take a few more of our chances we will remain vey competitive in this league and the competition for places means nobody can be complacent about his place in the team.
Biggleswade FC
Blade Owen Earley
Adam Hunt
Luke Oswick
Billy Baird
Leo Jenkins
Conor Inskip
Alex Marsh – GOAL, 94 mins (pen)
Rio Martucci
Temi Akinbusoye
Lawrie Marsh (C)
Sonny Coughlin-Brown
Substitutes:
Charlie Hayford (for Inskip)
Ethan Kessel (for Oswick)
Ibi Rashid, Dan Bond & Sammy Fisher-Diaz were unused.
Hitchin Town
Alfie Bonfield
Josh Jackman
Callum Kane
Blue Joy
Charlie Briggs
Ciaren Jones (C)
George Morrall – GOAL, 74 mins
Fernando Bell-Toxtle
Liam Brooks
Kye Tearle
Callum Nicolson
Substitutes:
Cole Butler (for Brooks)
Josh Coldicott-Stevens (for Bell-Toxtle)
Lewis Franklin (for Briggs)
Toby Syme (for Morrall)
Diogo Freitas-Gouveia was unused.
Referee: Harry Price
Attendance: 289
Report by Roy Izzard