WEEKLY BULLETIN – 19TH NOV
FIXTURES
- Saturday 20th November Home to Alvechurch League kick-off 3.00pm. Tickets must be bought online from our website.
- Tuesday 23rd November Away to Tring Athletic Herts Senior Cup kick-off 7.45pm. There is no coach to this game.
MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE
ST ALBANS
I would like to thank St Albans for sending a side to play us in a behind closed doors friendly last Thursday. It proved a very useful exercise against a good side and many players benefitted for the game time achieved.
LOWESTOFT
After our longest journey of the season we made a dream start at Lowestoft. Two well taken goals in the first three minutes gave us a good base to be the dominant force in the first half and we fully deserved our half-time lead.
We were given a great opportunity to extend the lead when we were awarded a penalty early in the second half. But unfortunately Alex Brown who had been so reliable from the spot this season put the penalty wide. This proved a massive turning point in the game as the miss deflated us and reinvigorated Lowestoft. It had almost the same affect as if they had scored! It gave them momentum and they scored soon after the penalty. We had to start defending the line and were restricted to a counter attack strategy. We remained dangerous and still created some chances.
I was disappointed we conceded another goal from a corner to give Lowestoft an equaliser but I was pleased with how we dug in and made sure we came away with a point. It was good to extend our unbeaten run to four games with three of them away.
ALVECHURCH
Alvechurch have had a solid start to the season and lie seventh in the table. Their manager Ian Long always produces teams that try to play football and I envisage an entertaining but difficult game. We will be looking to build on our recent performances and strive for the three points.
TRING
We will take this game seriously as the Herts Senior Cup is the last trophy we are left in and I want us to go as far in the competition as possible.
PLAYER NEWS
- Kye Tearle and Jordan Kinoshi remain on the injured list and will not be available on Saturday.
- We would like to welcome Sam Meakes to Hitchin. He made his debut off the bench at Lowestoft. He is on dual registration with St Albans for whom he has already played in the first team despite being just seventeen.
VARIOUS NEWS UPDATES BY CHRIS NEWBOLD
MERCHANDISE
We continue to be selling healthy amounts of merchandise both online and in the Club Shop on match days. We have only three more home matches before Christmas, so if you are looking to buy any Hitchin Town merchandise as Christmas presents, we advise you please to consider buying as soon as you can, so that if we run out of any sizes we will do our very best to order in the sizes needed in time.
We will be adding Green fleeces to our range of clothing, for sale in the Club Shop only. Sizes will be from 3XL to Small Adults and these will be available from Saturday, cost £35.00.
We have placed an order for new bobble/ski hats and we hope to have these in time for the Tamworth game before Christmas.
COACH TO BARWELL
Tickets for the coach to Barwell on Saturday 27th November are now on sale. The coach will leave Top Field at 11am.
LUTON TOWN U23 V UK ARMED FORCES FIXTURE – TUES 30TH NOVEMBER 2021
Luton Town Under 23s will be taking on a team from the combined UK Armed Forces in a friendly game on the above date, kick off 1pm. Tickets are on sale on our website – Adults £4, Concessions £2, Teenagers and Under 13s £1.
Contactless payments will be accepted on the gate for this game.
Forces Media are also planning to broadcast this fixture live via their Facebook page across the world – so regardless of where you are, tune in to see Top Field in all her glory on the day.
GENERATION CUP PROGRAMME
For those who didn’t make the day and obtain a commemorative programme, we have just a few left for sale either online or in the Club Shop on match days. Price £3.00.
CANARY CLUB NEWS BY KATE DELLER
We are proud to announce a Christmas Concert featuring Hitchin Glee Choir which is being held to raise much needed funds for our Charity Partners; Garden House Hospice, First Haven and Herts Disability Sports Foundation. There will be no charge but we will be taking donations on the night for the nominated charities and hope that you will come and support this wonderful Choir who opened our Cider and Cheese festival back in 2019.
It will take place in the Canary Club on 13th December 2021 starting at at 7.15pm.
We look forward to welcoming you all and if you wish to wear your Christmas Jumper it will add to the cheer!
ACADEMY UPDATE WITH MICHAEL JONES
On Tuesday 16th November we had Stan Georgiou and Callum Kane selected for the Pro:Direct 11 team who played against Luton Town FC Academy at their training ground. The lads played very well and once again showed the talent we have within our youth academy.
On Friday 19th November we have 7 players who have been selected for Pro:Direct 11 against Colchester Academy.
Our next open training session will be Wednesday 22nd December at The Arena, Norton Road, Baldock, Hertfordshire, SG7 5AU at 4pm. To register your interest or for further information please use this link below – https://www.northhertsarena.co.uk/next-trial-dates
HTWFC UPDATE BY KARLA CHAFFEY
Both teams were in League Cup action this week. The XIs were at home to Kempston Ladies FC and this is what manager Richard had to say.
‘So today we played a home game in the league cup game against Kempston. And again we only had eleven players available.
Starting line up: Reinsford, Moore, Elliott, Day, Coffey, Spang, Clarke, Evans, Higgs, Shackell, Dean. Subs. None.
We started well with Shackell pressing high up the pitch and getting a deflection of the Kempston keeper but the ball fell back into the keeper’s arms. That set the tone for the whole game. 8 minutes and a shot from Clarke on the right wing was parried out by the keeper and fell to Shackell to slot the ball home. 1-0
Free kick by Kempston just a outside the box rattled the crossbar but from that Hitchin attacked again down the right hand side with Clarke and the cross went across the six yard box but no one there to slot it in the net. Another attack from Kempston saw a cross into the Hitchin box, Coffey came in to try to clear the ball but a shove in the back(no foul apparently) and the ball fell into the Hitchin net.. 1-1
Great response from Hitchin from the kick off and another run from Spang who slotted a pass to Shackell who smashed the ball straight into the goal giving the keeper no chance. 2-1
On 38 minutes Becky Day absolutely smashed the ball top bins from just inside the Kempston half. What a goal.3-1 half time.
60 minutes and Higgs came off and we had to play the rest Of the game with 10 players on the field. A free kick from Coffey just outside the box finishing just wide of the corner flag. Whoops.
Great football played by Evans, Dean and Elliott and resulting in a shot just wide from Elliott. Elliott then had another chance saved by the Kempston keeper.
70 minuites and Kempston had a rare attack and somehow managed to put the ball in the back of the net. 3-2 pressure on now.
We started to get tired playing with 10 players and it showed. Kempston had another attack shooting just over the bar. Good work from Spang and Shackell and a shot saved from Spang. Another attack by Shackell and her shot saved. Again Spang went on another run with the ball and passed to Elliot to have another shot saved. 88 minutes and Kempston attacked against the run of play and scored to make it 3-3 with 2 minutes to go. Gutted.
Penalties it was and we all know what a lottery that can be. I give a massive credit and admiration to every single player that stepped up to take a penalty, it’s not easy and like Day and Evans said before the penalties, we win or lose as a team.
Unfortunately we lost 5-4 on penalties.
I give a massive amount of credit to the players of Hitchin for their team spirit throughout the whole game and the dreaded penalties.
If we play with that amount of passion, determination and confidence in future things could be quite exciting.
Goal scorers: Shackell x2, Day x1
Assists: Clarke x1, Spang x1, Day x1
Special mention to the player of the match who led by example from the back and brought a proper captains role to the game with massive confidence and positive encouragement to the rest of the team..
Becky Day take a bow…’
The Canaries were away to Knebworth Ladies FC and this is what coach Callum had to say.
‘This afternoon saw us return to the BHWFL League Cup and we were away to Knebworth Ladies FC. With another two in isolation due to COVID and another couple of injuries to add to the growing list the Canaries faced Knebworth with 11 players. The game got underway and it was Knebworth who were on the attack straight away. However some great play by the Canaries saw Allen have a number of shots saved and just flashing over the crossbar. Knebworth came knocking and it was Amies and Carter who kept Knebworth bay on a few occasions. GOAL! Knebworth opened the scoring midway through the first half. Lewis and Colyer linked up to send Allen through but the shot flashed wide. Mercer was on hand to tidy some loose balls from the Knebworth defence and the referee blew for half time.
It was pretty much end to end and it was Schofield and Rufaioglu who remained solid for the Canaries defence. The game got underway for the second half and it was Edwards whipping in some balls only for it to be cleared by the stubborn Knebworth defence. Dennis-Harburg made a nuisance of herself causing the Knebworth players issues and gave them no room to play! RED CARD! The Knebworth goalkeeper came rushing off her line and Allen poked the ball past her however the keeper punched her way through Allen sending her crashing to the floor and it was a penalty to the Canaries. Up stood Nemeth and GOAL! The play restarted and Amies whipped a long curving ball around the Knebworth defence and into the path of Allen and GOAL! Hitchin were 2-1 up and had managed to calm things down. Knebworth refreshed some legs on the pitch and got two quick goals in the closing moments. It finished 3-2 to Knebworth. We wish them luck in the next round. We rest up ready for the next set of fixtures in the coming week.’
Sunday 21st November 2021 fixtures are:
Hertfordshire County Cup
14:00 – HTWFC XI v Watford Ladies Development
Hertfordshire County Cup
14:00 – HTWFC Canaries v Stevenage Women FC
Keep up to date on our Twitter with all the live scores @HitchinTownWFC or on Facebook, Hitchin Town Womens FC
We are still continuing to recruit for players for the 2021/2022 season. We train Wednesday evenings at The Arena, Norton Road, Baldock, Hertfordshire, SG7 5AU. Training starts at 20:30 and finishes at 21:30, all abilities welcome!
BY ROY IZZARD