WEEKLY BULLETIN – 1ST NOV

FIXTURE

• Saturday 2 November away to St Ives League kick-off 3.00pm. There is no coach to this game.
• There is no midweek game.

FA TROPHY
As you will have seen on our social media platforms we will now play the winners of the replayed game between Grays Athletic and Bedfont Sports on Saturday 9 November at Top Field kick-off 3pm. Should we be successful we would then play the winners of the replay between Larkhall Athletic and Paulton Rovers in the next round at Top Field on Monday 11 November kick-off 7.45pm.

FIXTURE SECRETARY NIGHTMARE
Spare a thought for our fixture secretary Chris Newbold. The postponement of last Saturday’s F A Trophy game with Bedfont has led to a great deal of if’s but’s and maybe’s with regard to our fixtures over the next few weeks. Chris has to try and rearrange league games with Peterborough Sports and Lowestoft whilst the Herts Senior Cup game with Welwyn Garden City which is due to take place on Monday 11 November will only take place if we lose to Grays or Bedfont on Saturday 9 November! With the worsening of weather that is usual at this time of the year arranging football fixtures becomes a real headache and finding dates that suit both us and our opponents can be very complicated especially as different competitions carry different priorities as to which game will take priority.

So I wish Chris the best of luck and he will keep supporters fully informed as and when there is definitive fixture news.

STEVENAGE AT HITCHIN
On Wednesday 6 November we host the Herts Senior Cup game between Stevenage and Hadley kick-off 7.45pm. Stevenage asked us to stage the game to help protect their pitch. Why not come along to Top Field as admission prices are only £5 for adults and £2 for concessions. It is important we have good relationships with our Football League neighbours Stevenage and Luton as this can only help when it comes to arranging pre-season games or loaning players so we were pleased to help Stevenage on this occasion.

PLAYER NEWS
Having had a clear week with no games played we should have a full squad to choose from at St Ives on Saturday.

• Leon Okuboyejo has joined Barton Rovers on a loan deal.
• Lewis Barker played for Stotfold on Saturday to increase his match fitness after his recent suspension.
• Marcus Crowther played for Cockfosters on Saturday and Tuesday.
• Ciaran Gordon-Stearn played for Biggleswade United on Saturday.
• Theo Reed played for Potton on Saturday.

UNDER 19 NEWS
The under 19’s were beaten 3-2 by Crystal Palace on Wednesday. They are away to Dartford next Wednesday.

EJA NEWS WITH NICK CARR
Our EJA teams were all in action on Sunday with the U15 and U17s maintaining their positions at the top of their respective divisions with well deserved wins. The U14s also won whilst the U18s were defeated in a close game.

The U18s result was a 3-2 home defeat to Wingate & Finchley with Daniel Nunn and Joshua Adams scoring our goals.

The U17s won 3-1 against Grays Athletic with Jack Hewitt hitting a brace again and Ajay Lidder netting the other.

The U15s secured a comfortable 4-0 victory in a local derby at Stotfold with George Carr, Brandon Owen, Cathal Fee and Richard Kusorgbor all on the scoresheet.

The U14s won 2-0 at Saffron Walden with Rafael Miles and Anesti Kyrio scoring our goals.

This Sunday the U14s have a difficult game when they entertain league leaders Cambridge City, kick-off 11:00am at North Herts College.

The U15s are also in league action at Tring Athletic, kick-off 11:00am, whilst the U18s have an EJA League Challenge Cup fixture at Cheshunt, kick-off 10:00am.

HITCHIN TOWN LADIES FC WITH CALLUM ELLIS
Firstly in the Beds & Herts Women’s Division One, the contest behind the leading pair is hotting up with Hitchin Town Ladies in 3rd and Hartham United Ladies in 4th level on 10 points and both winning winning at the weekend. Hitchin Town Ladies were at home to fellow promoted side Royston Town Ladies Development on Sunday. The sides were playing the reverse fixture from the opening day of the season when Hitchin Town making a great start to the season beating Royston 6-1. 7 points were won in their opening 3 league matches before losing to Garston Ladies 1st at the end of September. A win and a loss in cup competitions followed but Hitchin got back to winning ways this weekend albeit the 3 points were won by a much closer score line.

An even contest saw Hitchin taking the lead on the half hour with Bethany-Ann Spavins seeing her shot creep over the line. Scrappy at times Hitchin were put under pressure by Royston as they sought to find a reply. Both sides had a goal disallowed with the first half goal enough in the end for Hitchin to collect the 3 points.

In the Beds & Herts Women’s Division Three at the weekend Stotfold Juniors Ladies were at home to Hitchin Town Ladies Reserves. Stotfold came into the game with back to back wins in the league but were short on numbers. Despite this they did well to hold Hitchin Town to a goalless score line at half-time. Stotfold opened the scoring in the 2nd period Chloe Ward scoring the goal on 53 minutes her 6th of the season. Hitchin Town came back to score an equalizer in the final 15 minutes to earn a share of the points with Megan Franklin scoring her first goal of the season.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE
Whilst it was frustrating to be without a game last week I was able scout a number of players by taking in in a couple of local games. We also had St Ives watched on Saturday.

The players have worked very hard during the week and training was intense (even in Halloween gear on Thursday night). The big advantage of not playing was that certain players who had been carrying various knocks have had the chance to recover.

ST IVES TOWN

The match against St Ives gives us the chance to learn from the mistakes we made at Leiston. We cannot approach the game with the wrong attitude and we have to make sure we are focused on getting the right result.

It has been drummed in to the players all week that a repeat of the Leiston performance would be totally unacceptable and despite it being early in the season I would still classify this game as a six pointer. I know St Ives will be looking to respond positively to their midweek defeat and I am under no illusions about how difficult this game will be. However, despite the Coalville game being nearly two weeks ago I want to build on the momentum of that evening and come back with a positive result.

BY ROY IZZARD