WEEKLY BULLETIN: 16TH JANUARY
Upcoming Fixtures
Saturday 17 January vs Marlow (H) – Southern League
Saturday 17th January – KO 3PM
We welcome Marlow to Top Field in the Southern League Division One Central.
In the reverse fixture, in October, Hitchin were 4-1 winners at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground. Hitchin’s goals were scored by Callum Kane, Liam Brooks, Taylor Rhiney and Callum Nicolson. All four Hitchin Town goals were scored in the first half. Marlow currently sit 16th in the league table with 29 points from the 25 games they have played, whilst Hitchin Town remain in second spot.
Tickets
Where possible we advise purchasing online. As well as being cheaper, it will ensure your quick and easy entry into the ground through the turnstiles.
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 need to buy your tickets in person, our Matchday ticket office will be open from 13.30-15.15 , 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 present your ticket at the turnstiles for entry. More details here:
https://hitchintownfc.club/admission-prices/
Turnstiles open at 14.00
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 and Drink
The Canary Club bar is open from 11.00 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.
Please enter the ground as early as possible before kick off to avoid congestion at the turnstiles. We have the following options inside the ground and you can still exit to the Canary Club Bar too:
Mad Squirrel Brewery are serving a great range of craft beers, ciders and lager. They are 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 everyone to Top Field and hope that everyone has a great afternoon.
Tuesday 20 January vs Watford (H) – Herts Senior Cup QF
We are at home to Watford in the Herts Senior Cup quarter-final kick-off 7.45pm.. There are reduced admission prices for this game as follows—adults £10, concessions £6, teenagers £3, under 13’s £1 and over 80’s free. At the match day office it is adults £12, concessions £8 teenagers £4 and under 13’s £2.
If we win we will be away to London Lions in the semi-final. The other semi-final will see Bishops Stortford or Hadley play St Albans.
Manager’s Notes
Last Weekend vs MK Irish
Saturday we made the trip to MK Irish. We were arriving at the game off the back of our very late winner against Stotfold while Mk Irish were looking to build on an impressive 1-1 draw in their last home game against Leighton Town.
We started the game extremely fast and you could tell our passing, movement and energy was exactly where it needed to be for this difficult fixture. We created some very good chances early on but Diogo Freitas – Gouveia shot went over, Lewis Franklin’s was well saved by the keeper and his other effort went over the bar. We continued to press for the goal we deserved and 16 minutes in, Diogo Freitas – Gouveia gave us the lead after some neat foot work allowed him to slot the ball past the keeper. We kept up the standards and kept the game in the MK Irish half and we were rewarded for our efforts after a well worked corner was headed in by Charlie Briggs. We then added a third just before half time when Diogo Frietas-Gouveia scored from the edge of the box after some good build up play. Mk Irish then grew into the game in the final minutes and forced Tyler into his first save of the match but this was followed by a Lewis Franklin chance to end the half which went over the bar.
Half Time we were really pleased with the group, we kept the ball really well, played with a high intensity and worked extremely hard to not concede and this was shown in a counter attack from our corner where everyone sprinted back with Diogo Frietas-Gouveia making a last ditch tackle. We explained to everyone to keep the standards and challenge them to be more clinical in front of goal as we felt we had been good enough to score more than the 3 we currently had.
We could not have asked for a better start to the second half when Taylor Rhiney and Lewis Franklin extended the lead further within the first 5 minutes. Mk Irish kept battling until the end but we managed to stay in control of the game. We were able to use the whole bench to give them all some much needed minutes as well as rest some players for Wednesday’s game. We were able to add a sixth when a long range Liam Brooks effort found the bottom corner.
It was an excellent away performance against a strong Mk Irish side. We were able to dominate the game from start to finish and score 6 goals away from home while keeping a clean sheet.
I would like to thank our loyal travelling support who hopefully had a very enjoyable afternoon.
Midweek Victory vs Aylesbury United
Wednesday we travelled to a much improved Aylesbury United to replay our abandoned game. We needed to make sure we came away with the win as we were in a very commanding position last time and fully felt we would have gone on to win the game.
Aylesbury were unbeaten at home in their last 5 games and we knew this test would be even more difficult than our previous visit and this showed in the opening 10 minutes where Aylesbury came at us from the start and had a very good chance to take the lead. We were able to ease our way into the game and gain control of the match and as the half went on were able to create some very good chances. The pressure finally told and after some good play from Lewis Franklin, Taylor Rhiney was able to finish in the box at the second attempt. Aylesbury United then had two really good chances to draw level with the first being superbly saved by Tyler McGregor and the second just going past the post. We then looked to push on for the second and 10 minutes later some good play between Callum Nicolson and Liam Brooks found Taylor Rhiney again for our second and his second. This gave us further control going into half time.
Half Time we explained about concentration at the start of the second half and not to allow Aylesbury United any opportunity to gain belief and momentum. We also explained that we needed to be neater in possession as some of our passes had been loose.
We started the second half fast and in the first 15 minutes created some really good chances to extend the lead but Aylesbury’s keeper made some good saves to keep the score at 2-0. Aylesbury then started to grow back into the match but our defensive display was solid and we were able to keep Aylesbury from causing Tyler any problems in goal. We were able to see out the half with a very professional display, despite some moments of lack of care with our passing/decision making.
Another great away win with another clean sheet. This game again showed that despite not being at the same levels as Saturday we were still able to win it showed the importance of our our squad depth as for both of these games we have been missing Stephen Gleeson and Josh Jackman and on Wednesday we were also missing captain Ciaren Jones and Josh Coldicott-Stevens.
I would like to thank the supporters who made the long journey on a rainy Wednesday evening to get behind this group and the club. Thank you for all your support and effort, it really does make a difference!
Saturday’s Meeting with Marlow
Saturday we host Marlow in another difficult game. Marlow have had a very inconsistent season so far and have struggled to put a run together to date. They have shown though that when they do get it right they are a very good side as they have had wins against Biggleswade Town, Welwyn Garden City and Barton Rovers as well as a last minute defeat to Biggleswade FC and narrowly losing to Hertford Town in their last game.
We need to make sure we continue our good run of form and keep the momentum going.
I look forward to seeing you all back at Top Field on Saturday.
Herts Senior Cup vs Watford
Tuesday gives us an opportunity to progress to the semi- finals of the Herts Senior Cup as well as the chance to rotate the squad and allow some players a rest while giving vital minutes to others.
We know Watford will have plenty of technical ability and some very good individuals. We know they will have the ability to keep the ball and plenty of athleticism within their squad. This will prove a difficult test for our group against full time professional players.
Player News
- George Morrall remains out injured.
- Stephen Gleeson will return to the squad for Marlow.
- Josh Bowler will be in the squad for Tuesday’s game against Watford.
- Josh Jackman will miss the Marlow and Watford games through injury.
- Ciaren Jones has been ill all week but we are hopeful he will be back for the Watford game.
- Josh Coldicott-Stevens will be back in the squad after missing the Aylesbury United game due to work commitments.
Academy Update
We have been able to train fully this week in preparation for our first game back next week.
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/SCLSPEnquiry/
Michael Jones
Season Ticket Sales
Below you can see just how much our loyal, regular support has grown in the past two seasons. We are incredibly grateful to all of you who have committed to support our team on a regular basis.
Going forward, although we are mindful of rising costs and necessary expenditure to maintain our Top Field ground and pitch, we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that we keep prices affordable for our regular, loyal supporters. Again our sincere thanks for your tremendous support.
Please be aware that it’s still not too late to consider buying a half season ticket and making a considerable saving on regular online and match day prices. For example, for the eight league games left:
An adult will pay £72 for a half season ticket (£9 per game, as opposed to £13 a game for an online match ticket or £15 for a ticket bought at the window on the day of the match.
A concession (60 to 79 years, and we are one of the very few clubs now where concession rates begin at 60), will pay £54 for a half season ticket (£6.75 per game), as opposed to £9 for an online match ticket and £11 for a ticket bought at the window on the day of the match.
So don’t delay….buy today!
That all means that we’ve sold 246 season tickets overall this season – 39 more than last season (207).
Tickets – Online vs Matchday Window
Another amazing statistic is the fantastic percentage of each of our attendances who have bought their ticket online in advance – be it a season ticket holder, buyer of flexi tickets or match day tickets. The table below gives an indication of the percentage of each attendance at our League games who bought their tickets online. Again for our hardworking small volunteer team, you have no ideas how much this helps us (and the club).
Chris Newbold
Eileen Bone
We were very sad to fear that Eileen Bone passed away on Christmas Day. Eileen was an excellent fixture secretary for the club for many years before stepping down to be replaced by Chris Newbold. Her health did not make it easy for her to carry out her duties but she made light of this and working closely with her I know how efficient she was.
With her husband Arnold they were popular figures at Top Field and of course their son Jon became a Hitchin Town legend playing 713 games and scoring 54 goals. Everybody at Hitchin sends their condolences to the Bone family.
Garden House Hospice Update
Huge thanks for your generosity in support of Garden House Hospice at the Stotfold game on January 3rd. Overall the match raised £1000 for Garden House with £443 raised by the 50/50 draw and over £500 raised in donations.
We will bring you more on this later in the season when we look forward to welcoming Garden House back to Top Field to celebrate how much the club have helped to raise overall for them this season.
Paul Sprague
Community Update
Coaching Courses at the Arena
Junior Ability Counts
The Junior Ability Counts sessions at the Arena, Baldock start from 5pm until 6pm and are open to 5 – 16 year olds with physical and or SEN but be able to walk.
The first session was on Monday 5th January 2026.
Safe Hands Goalkeeping Course
The very popular Safe Hands Goalkeeping sessions at the Arena, Baldock with former Hitchin Town 1st Team goalkeeper Josh Mollison started again on Wednesday 7th January 2026.
February Half Term Holiday Courses
The Arena, Baldock – Football Holiday Camps
We are holding our football holiday camp at the Arena, Baldock starting on Tuesday 17th February and will run for 3 days until Thursday 19th February.
Preston Primary School – Multi-Activity Holiday Camps
There will also be a multi-activity holiday camp at Preston Primary School starting Tuesday 17th February and will run for 3 days until Thursday 19th February.
Ex-Canaries’ News
The Boys’ Done Good
Former Hitchin players Ashley Hay and Will Wright have had a good time recently with the media spotlight firmly on them both for goals they have scored in matches that they have won.
Ash was the hero on the Blue side of Dundee the other week when he scored the only goal of the game to seal victory for Dundee against their local rivals Dundee United at Tannadice Park in the Scottish Premier League match. It was his second goal for Dundee having scored in the previous match.
Will played for Swindon Town against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday in the Virtu Trophy and ended the match as Captain with a 2-1 victory and a goal to boot!
He gave an outstanding performance and dedicated it to his late mother Helene who had supported him so loyally throughout his career including his time in the Luton Town Youth set up.
Mark Burke
Merchandise Update
Yellow Bobble Hats are now back in stock! Get yours from the Club Shop, the Visit Hitchin shop in the Town Centre or from the online store.
Replica Away Shirts – our final few remaining shirts are now at a reduced Sale price:
Adult £25
Junior £20
Infant £17
Only limited sizes remain. These are available in the Club Shop or available to order online: https://hitchintownfc.ktckts.com/brand/merchandise
Attendance League Table
The excellent attendance at the Stotfold game has increased our average attendance to 691 which is 231 more than Leighton who are second in the table. Our supporters are also boosting the away attendances as we are regularly taking over 100 fans to away games. At the Aylesbury game we clearly provided 75% of the 181 attendance.
You can find all the attendance data for the league here: https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/southern-football-league-division-one-central/attendances
Boosting the Canaries Profile Down Under
Two of our regular supporters have been spreading the Hitchin Town profile at the Sydney Ashes test in Australia. I received this email from Pete and Penny Wyatt–
Roy,
Penny and I went to Australia and Thailand recently and decided to boost the Canaries profile at Day 2 of the Sydney test match. You might be able to use the attached.
We’ve obviously been keeping up to date with the results and your Friday bulletins. An astonishing run of wins, Michael, the staff and team are giving everyone a major lift.
We’ll be back for Marlow on Saturday.
Fortunately I did see the 5-0 v Leighton before we set off.
All the Best
Pete ( and Penny) Wyatt
HTWFC Update
Result
Hitchin Town Women FC 1 – 0 United in Memory
Fixture
Sunday 18th January December 2026 – 14:00
HTWFC Canaries v Flitwick Eagles
St Christophers School, Barrington Road, Letchworth Garden City, SG6 3JZ
Callum Ellis