WEEKLY BULLETIN 11TH APRIL

UPCOMING FIXTURES

Saturday 12^th April  League game at home to AFC Sudbury  kick-off 3.00pm. Sudbury have won three and drawn one of their last four games scoring eight goals and conceding just two.

Friday 18^th April  League game away to Alvechurch kick-off 3.00pm. Coach leaves at 11.00am.

AFC SUDBURY PREVIEW

It’s our penultimate home game of the season and we look to finish our home matches with continued strong performances to be proud of. We welcome AFC Sudbury to Top Field. In the reverse fixture in December at Kings Marsh the points were shared in a 1-1 draw. Hitchin’s goal coming from Henry Snee in the 88th minute.

On Sudbury’s last visit to Top Field in October 2023 Hitchin Town clinched the victory in a closely contested game which ended 2-1, Hitchin’s goals scored by Finley Wilkinson and Jack Snelus.

TICKETS

For lowest prices and quickest entry into the ground please purchase your tickets online here: https://hitchintownfc.ktckts.com/brand/match-tickets

The online box office remains open until 30 minutes after kick-off.

If you do still wish to buy your tickets in person, the matchday ticket office is open from 13.30-15.15 on Saturday and can be accessed from the rear car park (behind the Canary Club). Once you have purchased a ticket at the Matchday Ticket Office you will then need to present your ticket for entry at the Turnstiles on Fishponds Road. More details here:https://hitchintownfc.club/admission-prices/

Turnstiles open at 14.00

Remember our flexi tickets are also available. This allows you to buy a pack of 5x adult or concession tickets at a discounted rate. You can then login to your Kaizen account and decide which league games you want to use these tickets for. You can use as many as you like per game. Buy yours here:

https://hitchintownfc.ktckts.com/merchandise/hit2425flexi/flexi-ticket-202425-5-matches

PARKING

Unfortunately supporter parking is not available in the club car park (unless you are a registered blue badge holder and have made prior arrangements).

FOOD & DRINK

The Canary Club bar is open from 11.00am with some of the lowest prices in Hitchin!
Drinks can be taken into the ground in a reusable plastic cup. (£1 deposit required). You can exit to the bar during the match and will be re-admitted via the side gate by showing your hand-stamp.

Mad Squirrel Brewery will be in attendance serving a great range of craft beers. They will be located adjacent to the main stand.

Canary Kitchen will be open from when the turnstiles open serving a great range of food and soft drinks including our signature HTFC Pies.

CLUB SHOP

Get your matchday programme, teamsheet, chocolate bars, sweets and HTFC merchandise from the club shop.

For full details on the facilities at Top Field see our Matchday Info page here:
https://hitchintownfc.club/matchday-info/

We look forward to welcoming another big crowd and hope everyone has a great afternoon at Top Field.

MANAGER’S NOTES BY MICHAEL JONES

Last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Kettering Town

We arrived at this game knowing that everyone had written us off and everyone was expecting a Kettering win to help them on the way to the title. We also knew we were down to the bare bones with four players who started against Royston not being in the matchday squad for various reasons. We also knew that we had quality in the dressing room and enough of it to cause Kettering problems.

The game started off as an even contest, with Kettering trying to force the tempo and get at us early but we were competing and asking them a lot of questions. Kettering did have a good chance in the first half but Seb Stacey pulled off an excellent save to tip this round the post and at the other end our chances were failing to hit the target.

The game did not have much to shout about in the first half, despite the 1000+ crowd trying to get Kettering going and we went in at 0-0 and at this point it would have been hard to tell who was going for the title and who was going to be relegated.

At half time we discussed different ways we could cause problems to Kettering, spoke about nullifying their strengths from the first half and praised the group for their battling performance.

We came out in the second half on the front foot and not long into the half a short goal kick from Seb Stacey resulted in an 11 pass move, which at the end Dom Martins found himself in the box and was able to smash home to give us the lead. This rocked the home crowd and players. We kept up the battle and created some other good opportunities to add a second. Kettering did not really pose any threat that we were unable to handle and despite making subs and changing shape they were only able to muster one chance, which they will be disappointed they didn’t score.

We then added a second through Rio Deall with less than 7 minutes of normal time to go and you felt from here we should be on for 3 points. This is when disaster struck and in the 88^th minute we gave away a penalty which allowed Kettering to reduce the deficit. The referee then added a generous 5 minutes of added time. In this period, we coped with the pressure well but then a ball played forward in the 96^th minute was not secured and then a poor clearance led to a throw-in. This allowed Kettering another opportunity to get the ball in the box and our two defensive headers still landed in the box and this allowed Kettering to smash home for an equaliser in the 97^th minute. Although I am disappointed the referee added on a ridiculous amount of time and then played over this allocated time, it’s no excuse for us not being able to see out the game. This is purely down to our costly mistakes. A tough one to take, because although I am proud of the effort from the group, everyone was gutted that we let the hard work go to waste in the final moments.

I wrote last week before this fixture that this game would come down to, who wants it more on the pitch, who is up for the fight and who is more determined to give everything for the win and we needed to make sure we had this hunger, passion, desire and fight in abundance which I feel we did. I also mentioned that I feel this group can compete with the best in the division and we wanted to prove that to everyone. I felt the players proved this, we had plenty of desire to fight and we showed everyone that we can compete with the best in the division.

Unfortunately, what we also showed is another reason why we sit second from bottom in the division. Our costly mistakes  are leading to goals which has meant we have dropped crucial points and conceded avoidable goals. Now I know that no player enters the pitch with the intention of making a mistake, but this is something we need to get out of our game/group of players as it is costing us dearly at present. Just look at the last two games, both ended in draws but we have given away an avoidable penalty in both games.

This weekend’s game at home to AFC Sudbury

AFC Sudbury arrive at this fixture in good form and have given themselves a great opportunity to stay at Step 3 next season, as they now just sit 1 point away from safety. They are unbeaten in their last 4 games, winning 3 of these.

We know they will arrive in good spirits, high on confidence and positive they can finish the day outside the relegation zone with a win against us.

We know that our pending relegation could be confirmed on Saturday, however we will be giving everything to continue our good home form which has only seen us lose once in our last 8 games. We also really want to finish the season as strong as we can in our remaining 4 games, starting with this fixture on Saturday.

I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday and I hope come 5pm we are all celebrating an overdue win!!!

Player News

• Lewis Barker is still in non-contact training as he recovers from his long-term shoulder injury and is making good progress for his comeback in pre-season.
• Harry Titchmarsh is still struggling with his ankle injury which ruled him out last weekend and will not be involved again this weekend.
• Lewis Franklin has been suffering with an illness all week and may not be involved in the squad.
• Stephen Gleeson is likely to be ruled out for the remainder of the season.
• Liam Brooks is back available this weekend.

NEW VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED FOR TANNOY!

Due to volunteers having university or change in circumstances next season we are on the look our for budding tannoy announcers. If you see yourselves as having “The Voice for our Stadium” we would love to hear from you. As you will know its really just a case of announcing a few safety messages, substitutions and any information about mascots, sponsors or visiting clubs.

You will be given full training and support throughout. We would like to have two or three people to allow for a rota system and allow you to volunteer and also enjoy being a supporter. This exciting opportunity would mean you get your own season ticket for the club and access to home games even when you are not volunteering.

If you would be interested in this or any other type of volunteering at Top Field please drop an e mail to volunteers@hitchintownfc.club or pop in the Shop and see us at the last two home games where you can collect and fill in a Volunteer Application form

HERTS SENIOR CUP FINAL AT TOP FIELD

On Tuesday 15th April we are hosting the Herts Senior Cup Final between Potters Bar and Hemel Hempstead kick-off 7.45pm. Tickets will be purchasable via card only at the turnstiles

Ticket prices:
Family ticket (2 adults and 2 concessions): £25
Adults: £10
Concessions: £5
Children under the age of 12: FREE

COMMUNITY UPDATE BY MARK BURKE

Subbuteo Super Saturday

We have teamed up with Hitchin Library to celebrate its 100^th birthday and the original football club’s 160^th year of being formed by arranging a Subbuteo football tournament to be held on FA Cup Final day (17^th May 2025).

We hope the event will attract children who may have never played Subbuteo before and their parents / grandparents who used to play the game in their childhood. Please see the flyer for more details.

The new dates for our coaching clinics at the Arena are out and can be booked on via the website www.northhertsarena.co.uk

On Monday evenings from 5-6pm we host a Junior Ability Counts session for children aged between 7 and 16 years old with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Monday 28th April, 12th & 19th May 2025 (3 sessions) – Cost: £12

On Wednesday evenings from 5.30-6.30pm we host a specific goalkeeping course called Safe Hands for children of all ages and abilities delivered by former first-team goalkeeper Josh Mollison.

Wednesday 21st April – 23rd May 2025 (5 weeks)     Cost: £30

HTWFC UPDATE BY CALLUM ELLIS

Results 

Everett Women FC 1 – 2 HTWFC
HTWFC Canaries 0 – 4 Cranfield United

Fixtures

Sunday 13th April 2025 – 14:00

HTWFC v MK United
Hitchin Town FC

Goffs Oak Women v HTWFC Canaries
Goffs Academy, EN7 5QW

ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES

Monday, we hosted an in-house training game at Top Field. Teams were formed from new and current academy players.

Josh Mollison and Lewis Franklin managed a team each and despite Josh’s team being 4-1 up after 60 minutes, they were only able to draw. Luckily his team was able to win on penalties. It was a great day for all involved and was a great way to sign off our season.

This week the first years have been on work experience, with quite a few of them opting to support us with coaching on our Easter Camps at The Arena.

If you would like to be part of the academy or would like to find out more information on what we offer please register your details using this link – https://extranet.wearescl.co.uk/ToolkitNew/webenrolment.aspx?page=~/webcontrols/courseapply.ascx&OfferingId=85258

JUNIOR CANARIES UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES

The final issue of this season will be released on Tuesday 29^th April.

We will be looking at ways to improve our offer in the summer, ready for the start of the season in August.

Please feel free to send feedback and suggestions to the email below.

If you wish to sign up as a Junior Canary, please email juniorcanaries@hitchintownfc.club with the following details:

• Name, Date of birth, Address, School, Club Team (if applicable), Team you support, Parent/Guardian Name, Email, Contact Number.

We look forward to welcoming you all to the Junior Canaries.

CHARITY MATCH AT TOP FIELD 

What a difference a day makes!! 

It shows what can be achieved when you couple the generosity of Jack Wilshere and Hitchin Town FC with the energy of the Johnny Lock, the wonderful children of Samuel Lucas JMI school, and the comedy genius of Anna Morris and Mark O’Sullivan – raising over £7.5k for the Garden House Hospice Care at Sunday’s Charity Football Match at Hitchin Town FC.

Thank you Jack, & to all those who generously supported us in making the day a great success, in what has since been badged as the “David Levett GHH Cup”!

Congrats to the Garbled Gunners, who came out 8-6 winners against a spirited Counterfeit Canaries team! Congrats also to our Raffle Winners, who enjoyed prizes ranging from Arsenal FC and Fulham signed shirts to facial treatments!

Here’s to next years DLGH Cup, slated for May 2026…our first player is already signed up – Jack Wilshere, and so promises to bring every bit as much success and energy as this year, here’s hoping we get the weather again!

Please email me directly if you would like to sponsor, donate or support the 2026 event at: roger_levett@yahoo.co.uk

#DLGHCup2026

Roger Levett

I have to congratulate Roger for organizing the charity match in memory of his father David. It was an outstanding success with over 500 people attending and an amazing £7,500 being raised for Garden House Hospice. It was a really feel good occasion with perfect weather and it was great to see so many family groups and plenty of young supporters. There was a great atmosphere and before the game there was even a rendition of Abide With Me. The players (all 66 of them) were a mixture of male and female, young and old and ability ranged from Jack Wilshere downwards. All credit to Jack for playing the whole game and giving time to have photos taken and talking to players and supporters.

Roger made this event happen and left no stone unturned in his quest to honour his father and raise as much money as possible for Garden House. He could not have done more and spent countless hours in his quest. I am actually proud that Hitchin Town FC were able to make a contribution to staging such a great event and have only got complete admiration for Roger. It looks like it will now become an annual event and with Roger involved I have no doubt it will become even bigger and better.

Roy Izzard