WEEKLY BULLETIN – 15TH SEPTEMBER

FIXTURES

• Saturday 16th September Home to AFC Sudbury FA Cup kick-off 3.00pm. Tickets must be purchased online. A reminder to season ticket holders that they must purchase a ticket for this game as we have to share the gate receipts.
• If there is a replay it will be on Tuesday 19th September kick-off 7.45pm.
• On Monday 18th September our under 18’s team travel to Kempston Rovers in the first qualifying round of the FA Youth Cup kick-off 7.45pm.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

Redditch United

Last Saturday saw us not only compete with Redditch United on the football field which was tough enough, but the players also had to battle with the searing heat. Credit to both teams for producing an entertaining first half that had 4 goals and a lot of drama in it.

I think it was obvious to everyone that the second half was going to be difficult for both teams to play with the same intensity as the first half and this was evident as it became scrappy and punctuated with numerous breaks in play.

Redditch are a very good side, and I would have settled for a point before the match. Therefore, I was happy with the draw and a second game unbeaten.

Nuneaton Borough

We followed Saturday’s match with another home fixture on Monday night against one of last season’s play-off teams Nuneaton. They have had a slow start to this campaign but had a fantastic result on the Saturday when they beat Coalville 4-1. They possess a lot of players with a pedigree, so I was delighted with our performance and the result.

We knew we had to change the team around from Saturday because the heat drained so much out of the players and credit to those players that came in as they certainly injected a lot of energy into the team for the whole 90 minutes.

AFC Sudbury

On Saturday we welcome to Top Field AFC Sudbury in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup.

We have only ever played AFC Sudbury on two occasions in the past back in the 2009-10 season when Colin Payne took us to the play-offs having accumulated 100 points but just missing out on the Championship by 2 points.

Ironically, Colin was at our match against Nuneaton on Monday night along with Luke Donnelly who played in both matches against AFC Sudbury that season. Another name on the team-sheet in those fixtures was Richard Wilmot, however he was playing in goal for AFC Sudbury.

AFC Sudbury have had a steady start to the League season and had a notable victory away to Nuneaton under their belts which demonstrates they will be dangerous away from home.

Both sides will be looking to progress to the next round and benefit from the prize money and kudos it brings Clubs. I hope we continue with the enjoyable football that has been on display at Top Field recently and look to extend our unbeaten run. The supporters were again right behind us in the last two games and it would be great to see a big crowd at Top Field for this important game.

PLAYER NEWS

• Jack Snelus has returned to full training and if he suffers no reaction will be in the squad tomorrow.
• Diogo Freitas-Gouveia feels more comfortable but will have a scan to get a proper diagnosis and will not be available in the short term.
• Isaac Galliford is still struggling with a trapped nerve in his back but will hopefully be in the squad tomorrow.

FA CUP
The prize for winning on Saturday is £3,375 with the losers receiving £1,125. This shows how financially important the FA Cup is for non-league clubs so please come along to Top Field tomorrow to act as the twelfth man for the team.

FAMILIAR FACES AT THE NUNEATON GAME
It was good to see two ex Hitchin Town managers at Top Field on Monday. Colin Payne and Darren Salton always closely follow our results and come to the games as often as possible. They certainly enjoyed the performance on Monday.

Also at the game was Steve Cawley. He is now playing for Margate and scored two goals last Saturday in their Isthmian League game. He certainly looked well and has so far avoided the injury problems he had at Hitchin.

ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES
On Monday 11th September we started our first full week back in education and training. The lads have trained very well and it’s a great sign of things to come for this season.

We are looking forward to our league fixtures starting at the end of this month and of course we will keep you up to date with our progress as the season goes on.

Male & Female Academy Teams

We are still recruiting for both our Male & Female Academy teams. If you would like to find out further information or register your interest then please use this link – https://www.northhertsarena.co.uk/next-trial-dates

CIDER AND CHEESE FESTIVAL REPORT BY MICK DOCKING
It has been a few months now since the conclusion of the 2023 Hitchin Town Cider and Cheese Festival and with the final accounts having been agreed, the event raised some £4.000.From day one it has always been understood that all profits would be applied to the Hitchin Town FC Ground Maintenance account.

In fact, the 2023 Festival was actually our third event – the project being exclusively the brain-child of Alan Clark, a match day volunteer who supporters will normally associate with 50/50 ticket sales. From day one Alan was the driving force behind the festival, putting together the volunteer helpers, largely from personal contacts who had hitherto been oblivious of the operations of the football club. His own cider experts Jim and Kate, now Devon residents remain absolutely committed to the cause even after three years of sourcing, sampling and transporting many of the ciders on offer.

Whilst Alan has previously given thanks to the volunteer body that he had assembled, he is too modest by half to acknowledge the part that he has played in pulling together the festivals. Without his commitment and energy, quite simply they would not have gone ahead.

Alongside appreciation of Alan’s efforts, huge thanks and credit must go to our main sponsors for 2023, Screenbond, Lyndhurst Financial Management, Flip Connect and B&D Civil Engineers. Their support was invaluable – thanks to Gordon, Adam, Russell & Ben and Brett.

Lastly, thanks to all the punters over the two days who managed to sup more cider than could possibly have been good for them.

Next year the festival is booked for the weekend of 6th and 7th July – put it the diary.

HTWFC UPDATE BY KARLA CHAFFEY
We got our season off to a start on Sunday 10th September 2023.

Our Firsts were away to Letchworth Garden City and after a hard fought battle they came away sharing the points after being held to a 1-1 draw.

Our Canaries completed the long journey over to EB Lions. The weather took a hold and a number of injuries were picked up to seven players and therefore the game was abandoned. The points were given to EB Lions as the score line would have not changed the outcome of the match.

Our next round of fixtures in the Beds and Herts Women’s League are :
Real Bedford Ladies v HTWFC Firsts
Kempston Rovers FC, Hillgrounds Road, Kempston, Bedford, MK42 8SZ

Watton Ladies FC v HTWFC Canaries
Watton FC, Ottway Walk, Welwyn, AL6 9AT

Both matches are at 14:00 kick off.

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.

CLUB SHOP
Please come and visit the club shop on Saturday. There is a really wide range of merchandise on sale together with sweets and chocolate, the match day porgramme and team sheet.

BY ROY IZZARD