WEEKLY BULLETIN – 21ST JAN

FIXTURES

• Saturday 22nd January away to Needham Market League kick-off 2.00pm. Coach leaves at 10.30am.
• There is no midweek fixture.
• We hope to have new dates for the Tamworth, Peterborough Sports and Redditch games in the near future.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

ST IVES

I felt the first 20 minutes showed the confidence St Ives had gained from their recent good run where they had won 4 of their last 6 games. They moved the ball around well but we defended strongly and they did not really create any chances. We made a slow start as I had foreseen in last week’s bulletin as we had had our two previous games called off leading to some rustiness. Although we had played a couple of friendlies against some local teams these games lacked the intensity of a league game.

However we grew in to the game and began to take control. We scored the first goal at a vital time just before half time and it was very well taken. Then we had a let off as St Ives should have equalized immediately. This seemed to be another sign that perhaps our luck is changing.

In the second half we began to turn the screw and scoring the second and third goals in quick succession secured the game and the fourth goal was icing on the cake. A clean sheet, four goals and three points meant it was a very positive result. Also there was a really supportive and large crowd backing us. The new stand seemed to amplify the noise and it was a great atmosphere. The win meant we were only six points behind St Ives who are in 11th position and we have three games in hand.

ST ALBANS

It was a welcome respite from the pressures of the league as we went to Clarence Park on Tuesday. However I was not happy with the first half performance as our build up was far too slow and we lacked creativity. St Albans took a deserved lead in to the break. We told the players at half time that they needed to play with more intensity and to move the ball forward more and at greater pace. We needed to get on the front foot and make sure we pressed the St Albans defence.

I was pleased to see the players took all this on board and we went 2-1 ahead which was fully deserved. I was disappointed with the way we conceded the equalizer but over the full 90 minutes a draw was a fair result. So we went to the lottery of penalties and it was good to see a marked improvement on the penalties taken at St Neots. We had five successful penalties to win through. Callum Stead had volunteered to take the first penalty and Jake Hutchinson wanted to take the fifth penalty. Seven players had volunteered to take a penalty.

So we can now look forward to a semi-final at either Hemel Hempstead or Cheshunt knowing we are only one game from a final.

NEEDHAM MARKET

We go to Needham Market on Saturday looking for revenge for the 6-1 humiliation we suffered earlier in the season. They had an excellent result at Yeovil last Saturday and are in the last 16 of the FA Trophy so will be on a high. They are a good team who like to play football as we saw at Top Field. But we are currently in a rich vein of form and will look to continue on our road to recovery and come back with some reward

MARK BURKE

PLAYER NEWS

• Both Dan Webb and Lewis Barker will miss the Needham Market game through injury.
• The rest of the squad are all available.

DONATION TO SHELTER
As you know we supported Shelter’s No Home Kit Campaign over the Christmas period. This week we donated £200 to this worthwhile cause as a result of giving £10 from each away shirt sale and also the unclaimed 50/50 prize from the Tamworth game.

MERCHANDISE NEWS
The new club shop was really busy last Saturday and it was great to see our whole range of merchandise flying off the shelf. Many thanks for your support and if you have not done so already please visit the club shop on match days. As well as the club merchandise you can buy the match day programme, team sheets and various types of chocolate bars and sweets. Please also remember to visit the online club shop if you are not able to attend home games.

STEVE CONROY
It was good to meet club legend Steve Conroy at St Albans. He is now their first team coach but speaking to him he still keeps a keen eye on how Hitchin are doing.

ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES
On Wednesday 19th January we entertained Bishop Stortford FC at Top Field in the National League Youth Alliance.

The squad was again a mixture of players from within our Academy due to the success our players are having with their senior clubs as Lewis Franklin played for Welwyn Garden City in their win, Cameron Groom played 90 minutes for Berkhamsted on Tuesday night and Malaki Black and Stanley Georgiou both played 90 minutes for the first team in the win against St Albans.

The game itself was a very scrappy occasion with neither team creating anything threatening and a below par performance from our usual high standards meant we struggled to get our passing and pressing game together. With not much to report, not long before half time Bishop Stortford took the lead from a corner which meant we came in at the break trailing 1-0.

Second half started stronger but nowhere near our usual standards, however we did manage to find an equaliser early on after a great finish from top goal scorer Harry Dollimore. The scores would not remain level for long as the next attack by Bishop Stortford left us exposed at the back and they regained the lead with a neat finish. The game started to become similar to the first half with not many chances created and Bishop Stortford trying everything to hold onto their lead but the game would come to life in the closing stages. A great ball out wide was superbly controlled by Tyrese Oates who managed to beat his man and deliver a low cross for Matthew Blake who passed the ball in from close range. This boosted the young Canaries who kept trying to create one more chance to steal a dramatic late win and in added time a foul by a Bishop Stortford defender in the box resulted in a penalty which Marlow Gough put away to give Hitchin a 3-2 win and keep us second in the table.

HTWFC UPDATE BY KARLA CHAFFEY
So it was the start of a fresh regime with the XIs this weekend as Gemma managed her first game. She was up against third in the table BIGGLESWADE UNITED LADIES. This is what Gemma had to say:

‘HTWFC XIs returned to league action travelling to Biggleswade in their 10th league game of the season after 6 weeks since their last game.

After a turbulent start to the season, losing players and the management, the team, now under new management were determined to return in style.

The team started well, getting the ball down and playing with such confidence. They completely controlled the game from start to finish creating chances and retaining the ball but it wasn’t until the 37th minute when Lucy netted the ball nicely in to the back of the net after a 1v1 with the keeper. A well deserved goal. Just before half time Jodie took her chance well finishing the half 2-0 up.

The team took nothing for granted in the second half and came out strong dominating from the off.

Minutes into the second half April after another excellent run down the wing, crossed the ball …. into the back of the net, 3-0.

Biggleswade had a couple of chances but Georgie had an excellent game and made sure she kept a clean sheet.

The teams last goal came from Nat after a great strike over the keepers head, 4-0.

Every single player should feel so proud of how they played today. Confidence in their ability, playing together and for each other. The football was on another level kicking 2022 off with a class performance.

Difficult to select a POTM when all the players had their best game but Nat after returning from injury and having not played for 7 months , returned in style, bossing the middle along with Shez, reading off each other and controlling the game. Massive well done Nat.’

The second game was CANARIES V STOTFOLD JUNIOR LADIES. This is what Jamie’s had to say about the game:

‘The Canaries had their first home game of 2022. In great conditions the pitch looked great and we were ready to go. The game started well with Stotfold putting early pressure on the Canaries who then had a goal ruled out for offside. Debutant C.Edwards made a sudden impact in the squad linking up well with Coyler and Mercer who were controlling the middle winning every ball. Carter made a break through the Stotfold defence only to be tackled last minute before she could get a shot on goal.

The first goal unfortunately come from Stotfold. After some confusion within the defence Nemeth had no chance in seeing the ball through all the players in front of her which then made it 0-1 Stotfold. The Canaries come knocking on the door with Colyer and Wilson working well together to try break down the Stotfold defence. After half time the ladies come out fighting. We were by far the much better team in the second half with H.Edwards and Barrett causing all sorts of trouble down the wings.

Stotfold then decided to slow the game down by time wasting. Rufaioglu, Armstrong Foo and Amies had a fantastic game at the back breaking down all the dangerous attacks from Stotfold. Jarrod returned after a long spell on the sidelines recovering from a long term injury and she battled on and worked really hard. Davies also come on to cause issues for Stotfold but unfortunately it was not the Canaries day and we could just not find the back of the net.

Players player C. Edwards

Managers player Mercer’

HITCHIN TOWN WOMENS FC CANARIES V KEMPSTON ROVERS – SUN 23RD JANUARY 2022 – 14.00
Ickleford Recreation Ground, Chambers Lane, Ickleford.

Keep up to date with all the live scores & fixtures, Twitter @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 22:00, all abilities welcome!

CANARY CLUB NEWS
Next Friday we have Keith George The Boy George Experience at The Canary Club. Tickets can be purchased online or from the Canary Club.

BY ROY IZZARD