Report
HITCHIN TOWN 0 TAMWORTH O MATCH ABANDONED 27 MINS
It was a most unfortunate afternoon. Tamworth arrived at Top Field looking to improve their league position and end a run of poor form. The two clubs had fought gamely to a goal-less draw at Tamworth earlier in the season , with Charlie Horlock having an outstanding game in goal.
The fresh outbreak in the current pandemic was also a factor, with the visitors reporting two players affected and our new loan signing Jake Hutchinson was rendered unavailable owing to parent club Colchester United’s strict COVID protocol. Stephen Cawley was thus given a start in an otherwise unchanged team following the heroic draw with ten men at Rushall.
The omens were not good today as Tamworth lost a player to injury after about three minutes, and Liam Cross was a replaced by Tyrell Waite. In true Hitchin tradition a free-kick was conceded early, just outside the eighteen yard area and although the ball needed up in the net, an assistant flagged for the referee’s attention. The assistant confirmed the off-side and play continued with home supporters perhaps thinking this was a slice of good fortune.
Hitchin seemed to start cold and there was no early indication of the shaking off the lethargy that we had hardly expected and it was The Lambs who applied the pressure, and they had two deflected shots on goal in as many minutes.
However, Hitchin did get a fair foothold and began to move more confidently and put together some attacking play. Jordan Brown was cautioned for a bad foul and Jack Green was cautioned in the incident that led to the abandonment.
Jack went legitimately for a a ‘fifty-fifty’ ball with Bilal Yafal and the latter stayed down following what was presumably a clash of heads. It must be emphasised that there was nothing malicious about Jack Green’s challenge and is certainly not that type of player.
The Tamworth player received treatment and it was obvious that an ambulance and further medical attention would be needed and a player was heard to mention that the ambulance would be ‘ninety minutes’. As a matter
of fact in arrived in nine and Yafal was able to walk instead of being placed on a stretcher.
The match must be rescheduled within six weeks.
HITCHIN TOWN
Charlie Horlock, Jack Green, cautioned, Alex Brown, Stephen Gleeson, Daniel Webb, Ciaren Jones, Callum Stead, Lewis Barker, Stephen Cawley, Josh Coldicott-Stevens, Malaki Black.
Substitutes- Matthew Moloney, Jordan Kinoshi, Delsin Akom, Rio Dasilva, Stanley Georgiou.
TAMWORTH
Jasbir Singh, Lucas Yeomans, Henri Wilder, Ryan Beswick, Christopher Cox, Jordan Brown, cautioned, Jack Concannon, Aaron Forde, Matthew Stenson, Bilal Yafal, Liam Cross.(Tyrell Waite).
Other substitutes- Orrin Pendleton, Keenan Fallows, Kai Lissimore, Alexandra Jones.