WEEKLY BULLETIN – 22ND APRIL

FIXTURE

• Saturday 23rd April Home to Bromsgrove Sporting League kick-off 3.00pm. Tickets must be bought online but it is a pay what you want game.
• This is the last game of the season.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

BANBURY

I was delighted with our performance against Banbury who were worthy champions having lost just two league games all season. We were sitting in a perilous position at the foot of the table and I needed to make calculated decisions on team selection. Key players Dan Webb, Steve Gleeson and Jack Green were all carrying knocks and whilst they could have played I did not want to risk them at this stage. Our destiny had always been in our own hands and I knew we had the fall back position of getting a result against Bromsgrove to avoid relegation.

So I did not risk the senior players and gave youth an opportunity and I must say they did not let me down. To start with six teenagers against the champions was always going to be a tall order but on the day I thought we were the better team .We created numerous chances but hit the woodwork three times, had a goal incorrectly disallowed while the Banbury keeper made three excellent saves.

After the game the Banbury manager Andy Whing said to me that no other team had created as many chances against them as we did on Saturday. However Banbury showed why they are champions with two late goals, the second one being really excellent.

PETERBOROUGH SPORTS

I faced the same selection dilemma on Monday as I had on Saturday but to make matters worse I had to rest Cieran Jones while Jamie Peters was ruled out by covid. This meant I had to start with six teenagers again but I was able to add experience with Steve Cawley returning to the side. We faced Peterborough Sports who are likely to finish runners-up.

I have to hold my hands up and admit we approached the game differently to the Banbury game. We knew it would be a more physical game but again I must praise the team for the way they coped with the physicality. It was unfortunate that just one lapse of concentration led to the winning goal.

Playing Banbury and Peterborough Sports in successive games with a weakened squad could not have been more challenging but I could not have asked for more from the team.

BROMSGROVE SPORTING

We trained on Thursday night and news came through that Tamworth were leading Biggleswade 3-0 at half time. This made training more relaxed and in the clubhouse afterwards all the players stayed to hear the final score. There was a mixture of relief and jubilation that we were safe from relegation.

We will go all out to beat Bromsgrove on Saturday and finish as high in the table as possible. We need to turn our recent good performances in to a positive result and we really want to give the supporters a victory.

PLAYER NEWS

• Dan Webb and Cieran Jones face late fitness tests.
• Jack Green and Steve Gleeson will be in the squad after overcoming injury problems..
• Jamie Peters should have recovered from covid and be available for selection.
• Lewis Barker is suspended.
• Ben Stevens has returned to parent club Luton Town as his work experience period had come to an end.

PAY WHAT YOU WANT FOR THE BROMSGROVE GAME
As a reward for the tremendous support we have received from our ultra loyal supporters throughout this difficult season we have decided to make the Bromsgrove game pay what you want. An average attendance of 489 putting us in 7th place in the attendance league table is quite remarkable. Now we know we are safe from relegation it will be a more relaxed atmosphere than we might have feared if we needed points from the game. But it would be good to end a difficult season with a bumper crowd and the pay what you want option is a way the club can say thank you to our loyal supporters for continuing to come to Top Field in such large numbers despite our struggles. B’s Ices will be selling ice creams at the game.

We will never take our supporters for granted—without supporters you have no club. Hopefully we are now more open with supporters and the very idea of the weekly bulletin was to ensure they were given all the latest news from the club as well as getting the views of the manager on a weekly basis.

Hopefully the improvements at Top Field and Canary Club have improved the spectator experience and there is no doubt we have attracted many new supporters this season. We may not always get it right but we will continue to try and improve all aspects of the club and reward the loyalty the supporters have given us.

VISITORS AT TOP FIELD
Last Saturday we welcomed ex manager Colin Payne and ex player Steve Shea (106 appearances) to the Banbury game. We have also had regular messages of support from ex players throughout our relegation battle.

HTFC RADIO
As ever if you cannot make it to Top Field on Saturday full commentary will be available from HTFC Radio. As this is the last game of the season I want to thank Freddie and Marac for their brilliant work through the season.

It provides an excellent service for those who cannot attend games and Freddie and Marac are so professional. They do plenty of research before games and have set really high standards. They have even provided commentary from several away games. So many thanks to Freddie and Marac and your hard work has been much appreciated.

MERCHANDISE UPDATE
Please visit the club shop on Saturday and take the last chance this season to buy some of our merchandise. Home shirts have now sold out but a number of the smaller size away shirts are still available for just £22.50. if you cannot get to the game you can still visit the online club shop at any time,-.

OTHER GAMES AT TOP FIELD
The Greg Cup final takes place on Wednesday 27th April. It features Lemsford v Broxbourne, ko 7:45pm. Entry is £3 Adults, £1 Childen (no more detail than that). Pay on the gate (side gate). A programme is also bring produced.

The only other game being played post season now at Top Field is the Hertfordshire Homeless World Cup on Saturday 7th May, 10:30- 15:30. Entrance £3 Adult, £1 Child, pay on the gate. All monies go to Haven Direct.

ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES
On Wednesday 20th April we returned to league action after a two week break from training and games due to the Easter break. We only had one training session before this so knew Wednesday’s fixtures were going to be tough. We also had a very stretched two squads due to injury and unavailability.

In our home game against Hemel we fell to a 3-2 defeat with both our goals coming from Matthew Blake, we now need 1 point in our final two games to secure 3rd position and round off a very successful season.

In our away game at Barking we went down 2-1, and despite dominating the second half we were unable to find an equaliser to give us a deserved point. Our goal came from Nat Day. We still have 8 fixtures to play in the SCL league due to a fixtures being rearranged earlier on in the season.

HTWFC UPDATE BY KARLA CHAFFEY

Beds and Herts Women’s Football League fixtures, 14:00 kick off:

Sunday 24th April 2022

Division One
Garston Ladies Reserves V Hitchin Town FC XI
Metropolitan Police Bushey Sports Club, Aldenham Road, Bushey, WD23 2TR

Division Two
Letchworth Garden City V Hitchin Town FC Canaries
Pixmore Playing Field, Baldock Road, Letchworth Garden City, SG6 2EN

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! We are also looking for Club Sponsors ! Please get in touch for further information.

BY ROY IZZARD