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WEEKLY BULLETIN – 11TH AUGUST

7

FIXTURES

  • Saturday 12th August Away to Long Eaton League kick-off 3.00pm. Coach leaves 10.30am.
  • Tuesday 15th August away to Needham Market League kick-off 7.45pm. Coach leaves 4.30pm.
  • Wednesday 16th August Home to Arlesey FA Youth Cup kick-off 7.45pm. Tickets can be purchase online or you can pay cash or card on the night.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

ALVECHURCH

The first game of the season is always an exciting time and we met Alvechurch with the pitch looking immaculate with a good crowd in attendance considering the holiday period. Unfortunately we did not start the game well but credit has to be given to Alvechurch who came at us at high speed and were quickly into top gear whereas we were stuck in first gear.

We could count ourselves fortunate to reach the break all square and with Alvechurch reduced to ten men. I said to the players at half time that they appeared to have the weight of the world on their shoulders. I told them they needed to relax and compose themselves but that this needed to be done with urgency. I felt the players did respond at the start of the second half and I had asked them to make the pitch as big as possible to make use of the extra man.

We got our noses in front with a spectacular strike from Jack Snelus. This calmed us a little bit but Alvechurch refused to lie down and continued to cause us problems. We were able to score another very good goal to give us breathing space. I must admit that I never felt comfortable but we did squander a number of opportunities when we broke forward.

Overall it was a very pleasing day with three points in the bag and a clean sheet and while I know we can play better it was the result we were looking for.

LONG EATON

We enter into unchartered waters on Saturday when we make our first ever visit to Long Eaton. They put in a good performance away to a strong Leamington side last week so I know this will be a difficult match. It is also their first home game in the Southern League Central Division so they will be keen tom impress their supporters. We have the luxury of a fully fit squad to choose from.

NEEDHAM MARKET

We travel to our nemesis on Tuesday as we go to Needham Market where our record is poor. I am hoping we can replicate our start last season when we had an early visit to another bogey club in AFC Rushden & Diamonds and managed a rare victory. Despite Needham Market suffering a heavy defeat last Saturday I am sure manager Kevin Horlock will get a reaction on Saturday and that they will be reinvigorated for Tuesday.

MARK BURKE

ATTENDANCES AT FIRST HOME LEAGUE GAMES
We had an attendance of 438 for our first home league game with Alvechurch. I wondered how this compared to previous seasons and below are the attendances for the first home game in previous seasons-

  • 2016 Cinderford 334
  • 2017 St Neots 520
  • 2018 Kettering 471
  • 2019 Stourbridge 322
  • 2020 Alvechurch 425
  • 2021 Nuneaton 458
  • 2022 Rushall 419

ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES
We are delighted to announce our new Female Academy in partnership with Pro:Direct.

This will allow girls who are in years 12/13 to study an NCFE qualification in sport while training everyday.

Academy Head Coach Stephen Gleeson had this to say “Its a great step forward for the club who are not only interested in creating pathways for our male students into the first team but now we can help female students who want to develop as footballers. We already have great links with women’s football as our former Academy Head coach Damon Lathrope is manager of championship club Watford FC Women. We hope this move will continue to grow girls football in Hitchin and continue to show the commitment we have as a club in the community”

If you are interested in finding out more information or want to register your interest for either our boys or girls academy then please use this link – https://www.northhertsarena.co.uk/next-trial-dates

HTWFC REMINDER
We are back! HTWFC women have returned to pre season training and are looking for new players. We train Tuesday & Thursday evenings at Ickleford Sports & Recreation Ground, Chambers Lane, Ickleford, SG5 3YA. We train between the hours of 19:00-20:30. We also have two teams playing in the Beds & Herts Women Football League.

We are also looking for new sponsors for the women’s set up. We are looking for sponsorship for training kits and tracksuits. If this is something you are interested in please get in touch with Callum on HTLFC.ClubSecretary@gmail.com

BY ROY IZZARD