WEEKLY BULLETIN – 11TH NOVEMBER

FIXTURES

• Saturday 12th November Home to Alvechurch League kick-off 2.00pm. Tickets must be purchased online. Please note the kick–off time is 2.00pm.
• Monday 14th November Home to Coalville League kick-off 7.45pm. Tickets must be purchased online.

HERTS SENIOR CUP UPDATE
On Tuesday Stevenage beat Hadley 2-0 in the Herts Senior Cup. We will now play Stevenage at Top Field in the quarter final on Monday 9th January kick-off 7.45pm.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

ILKESTON

We made a very good start and took the lead with an excellently taken goal by Steve Cawley. Then Ilkeston grew into the game and began to put us under pressure. Unfortunately they equalised just before half time and we then suffered a further blow when Finley Wilkinson was forced off with a foot injury.

We replaced Finley with Diogo Freitas-Gouveia as we wanted to remain attack minded. However I have to be honest and say we were overpowered by a very impressive Ilkeston side in the second half and we were unable to hold out for the draw as they scored in the 83rd minute. We pushed hard to get the equaliser and this saw us over commit and were punished when deep into injury time Ilkeston broke to score a third goal. This was harsh on us but there was no doubt Ilkeston deserved their win.

ALVECHURCH

On Saturday we entertain the FA Cup heroes of Alvechurch in a 2.00pm kick-off. I would like to congratulate Ian Long and his team on their magnificent achievement in winning at Cheltenham and they will now be rewarded by being live on BBC when they go to Forest Green in the next round. Because of their cup success they are in a false position in the league table and they have games in hand.

Our matches with Alvechurch are generally entertaining with both teams playing football the right way and I expect the same on Saturday in front of what should be a decent crowd.

COALVILLE

On Monday we welcome high flying Coalville to Top Field. In the summer Coalville were my choice to win the league. They have been there or thereabouts for the past few seasons and there is a lot of continuity in their playing squad. Although they are outside the play-off positions at the moment I still believe they will be challenging to win the league.

They have also had a great FA Cup run and won at Notts County before enjoying their day out at Charlton last Saturday. It is likely to be another difficult game but I am sure it will be entertaining.

PLAYER NEWS

• Finley Wilkinson—We were looking forward to announcing that Finley signed a contract last Thursday but unfortunately the gloss has been taken off the announcement with Finley suffering a foot injury at Ilkeston. He has had a scan and is waiting for this to be assessed by a specialist but will not be available Saturday or Monday.
• Josh Coldicott-Stevens has returned to full training and will be in the squad on Saturday.
• Steve Gleeson will miss Saturday because of a one game suspension for reaching five yellow cards.
• Toby Syme will be in the squad for Saturday after failing a late fitness test at Ilkeston.
• Johnny Allottey has joined Harrow Borough to get more game time.

ACADEMY UPDATED BY MICHAEL JONES
On Thursday 10th November we caught up with Academy head coach Stephen Gleeson and here is what he had to say on his first few months as head coach of the academy.

‘’It has been a real great experience in my transition from my playing career into starting my coaching journey. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be head coach at Hitchin Town FC Academy, I would have laughed but I have loved every moment of being involved with the academy players every week.

This season has been difficult so far as we had a lot of 1st years join the academy that are not used to training every day or the demands of development football and playing against older more physical players. That being said, we are working hard on developing everyone so they are ready for senior football and hopefully we can see some players progress into the Hitchin first team.

We had quite a good FA Youth Cup run at the start of the season where we eventually got knocked out of the competition by a very strong Chesterfield team. Unfortunately, the players did not play anywhere near their ability, but the game also proved the standard of development football compared to senior football. At the start of the run we were probably all looking at players we felt could have had an impact in the first team, but I believe the Chesterfield game showed the different levels and that our young Canaries all have a lot more to learn.

On playing senior football I believe it’s vital for these players to gain this experience at step 5/6 as this will be a real eye opener to some of them who are used to academy football- which at times can be a false environment. When a player progresses into their second year with us, we look to identify those who are able to handle the demands of senior football and progress into local clubs. So far we have had a lot of success in doing this with the likes of Harry Dollimore, Callum Kane and Matthew Blake to name a few who are involved at clubs at Step 4, 5 and 6 as well as players progressing into the first team at Hitchin like Stan Georgiou, Kye Tearle and Malaki Black. We hope to continue this successful formula in the future.

For me personally, I hope to continue to work in the academy learning my trade and use my experience and knowledge of the game to help develop the next generation of players coming through our ranks. ‘’

LEGEND TO BE AT ALVECHURCH GAME
Hitchin Town FC legend Paul Giggle will be attending Saturday’s game with Alvechurch. Paul played 738 games for Hitchin scoring 213 goals in a career that started in 1968 and finished in 1987. He comes to Top Field most seasons and always follows our results. It will be good to see one of our all time greats at the game.

REMEMBRANCE DAY
On Saturday at the Alvechurch game there will be a one minute’s silence before the game in honour of Remembrance Sunday.

SUPPORT FOR OUR CHOSEN CHARITIES.
To help our three chosen charities—Garden House Hospice, Stevenage Haven and Herts Disability Sports Foundation- we are donating all our 50/50 profits from our games in November to these worthy causes so please dig deep. We are also holding a quiz night on December 8th at Canary Club and all profits from the evening will again go to our three charities We pride ourselves on being a community club and it is important we help those less fortunate in these difficult times.

HTWFC UPDATE BY KARLA CHAFFEY
The Firsts reversed their fixture to Ickleford for their league clash with Knebworth. The Firsts got the opening goal in the second half but Knebworth equalised shortly after. However the Firsts won it within the last few minutes of the match.

The Canaries travelled to Bedwell for their league fixture. The Canaries scored three before half time and Bedwell pulled a goal back. However the Canaries flexed themselves and scored an additional two goals which saw them win the three points.

This Sunday both teams are playing in the BHWFL. They are both 14:00 kick off’s. However we are unsure if the games will be postponed. Keep updated with current pitch inspections on our socials below.

Firsts v Evergreen Eagles
Welwyn Pegasus v Canaries

Keep up to date with all the live scores & fixtures, Twitter @HitchinTownWFC or on Facebook, Hitchin Town Womens FC

We are currently recruiting new sponsors to help us cement our future. We are looking for sponsors to help us develop a women’s club to be the best in Hertfordshire. Please get in touch for further information.

BY ROY IZZARD