WEEKLY BULLETIN 25TH APRIL

UPCOMING FIXTURE

For our final league game we travel to Redditch on Saturday. Kick-off is 3.00pm and the coach leaves at 11.00am.

It is a crunch game for Redditch as they are one place above Barwell who occupy the last relegation place in the league table. The two teams are equal on points and Redditch have a better goal difference of just one goal.

MANAGER’S NOTES BY MICHAEL JONES

Alvechurch

We travelled to Alvechurch on Good Friday following our confirmed relegation. The squad had changed from the previous week with certain players not being available and some players from the Academy being rewarded for an excellent season making the squad instead.

We were able to give Will McNeill his first start in a Hitchin Town shirt as he was one of the 3 changes to the starting 11 from the previous week.

We started the game at a tempo and on the front foot and were looking to get into our usual game which has been missing for some weeks. We were starting to control the game but were lacking any quality in the final third which has been a massive part of our downfall this season. Then in the first 25 minutes we found ourselves 2-0 down, Will McNeill lost the ball in the middle of the pitch and Alvechurch were able to capitalise on this and take the lead and then not long after some poor marking at the back post allowed an easy tap in. We then started to try and get back into our game but were still massively lacking the quality needed. Not long before halftime Lewis Franklin showed the one real moment of quality from us in the first half with a goal to reduce the deficit, however this did not last long. Into added time a shot from the edge of the box was not followed in and another simple tap in restored the 2-goal lead.

At half time I felt the scoreline was very harsh on the balance of play but then again football games are not decided on the balance of play, they are won and lost in both boxes and although between both boxes we had been good, our quality in the attacking box had been awful apart from the goal and our defending box was even worse!!! We spoke about the need for more quality in the attacking box and better defending in our own.

I felt we started the second half with a real passion to show we were better in both boxes and try and get something out of the game to reward our travelling support who would have all been disappointed with the scoreline as much as we were. It was not long before we were reduced to 10 men .Harry Titchmarsh went in for a tackle which was completed in line with the laws of the game However the referee on the day deemed it to warrant a sending off. We were now 3-1 down, had one less player, while already being relegated. This could have become embarrassing, but the players rolled up their sleeves and continued to control the game with the ball and just lacked the quality in the final third. We then went 4-1 down, after the referee awarded an extremely harsh penalty against Toby Syme for handball. This was the final score of the match.

We then made changes and it was great to be able to reward Blue Joy and Tyrese Kamara with their debuts.

The game was more competitive than the scoreline suggests, especially considering we played 40 minutes with 10 men and only conceded a very harsh penalty in that time.

I would also like to give a special mention to Will McNeill, on his first start for the club. He made a mistake for the first goal and this could have ruined his game but he showed excellent character and mentality to come through this and continue to work hard for the group, especially when we went down to 10 men.

Bedford Town

Soon to be champions Bedford Town travelled to us on Easter Monday in front of over 1,000 supporters.

We kept the same starting team as Friday as although the scoreline said otherwise, the group did okay and this showed on Monday.

We played the whole game at a fast tempo and this caused Bedford problems and I felt we moved the ball very well and looked like our usual selves from when we were winning games over the Christmas/New Year period. Bedford posed a threat and this came in the form of a very long throw-in and midway through the first half, this tactic paid dividends when we were unable to clear the ball and they finished well from inside the box. We stuck to our game plan and created a few half chances but without causing the Bedford keeper any problems.

Half time we came in 1-0 down and Seb had mainly been a spectator for the half with the only threat coming from the long throw. We emphasised about our tempo throughout and how good it had been and demanded more from our decision making in the final third. Second half Bedford scored early on but the goal scorer was in a clear offside position so this was rightly ruled out. This led to the Bedford players confronting the assistant referee and while this was happening we set up to play a quick free kick and before Bedford could fully react we had the ball in the back of the net after a good finish from Jake Hutchinson. We then had our best spell of the match and we were looking the most likely to score, making their keeper make a few saves to keep the score at 1-1. Unfortunately another long throw was our downfall, Seb Stacey misjudged the flight of the ball and this allowed a Bedford player to tap into an empty net from close range. We kept trying to force an equaliser but as the game went on Bedford sat deeper and deeper and eventually the time ran out.

The group of players gave us everything over the weekend, apart from any points! I hope people can see that if we can retain players from this game and add some more quality in certain areas, we can have a positive season moving forwards.

I would like to thank the huge support that turned up on Monday to get behind the group for our final home game of the season. Your support has been incredible this season and will be even more important next season.

This weekend’s trip to Redditch United

Our final game of the season we travel to Redditch United on Saturday, where they currently sit just 1 goal outside the relegation zone. A win is vital for them and even a win may not be enough depending on other results.

People will wonder if we have the motivation to go to Redditch and try to win a game of football but I can assure everyone that we will be preparing properly for this game, with the intent of finishing the season with a win. I am also looking at players for next season and character and mentality of players will be vital next season, so the players will need to show this on Saturday.

Please continue to get behind the group and support them one last time this season, before we all have a much needed break!

Player News

• Lewis Barker continues to work on his recovery for pre-season.

• Harry Titchmarsh had his red card received against Alvechurch overturned and will be available for Redditch.

• Liam Brooks is unavailable this weekend due to a family commitment.

NEW VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED FOR TANNOY!

Due to volunteers having university or change in circumstances next season we are on the look our for budding tannoy announcers. If you see yourselves as having “The Voice for our Stadium” we would love to hear from you. As you will know its really just a case of announcing a few safety messages, substitutions and any information about mascots, sponsors or visiting clubs.

You will be given full training and support throughout. We would like to have two or three people to allow for a rota system and allow you to volunteer and also enjoy being a supporter. This exciting opportunity would mean you get your own season ticket for the club and access to home games even when you are not volunteering.

If you would be interested in this or any other type of volunteering at Top Field please drop an e mail to volunteers@hitchintownfc.club or pop in the Shop and see us at the last two home games where you can collect and fill in a Volunteer Application form

ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES

Will McNeill played 90 minutes away to Alvechurch on Friday and played 85 minutes at home to Bedford Town on Monday in front of over 1,000 supporters.

Blue Joy and Tyrese Kamara both made their Hitchin Town debuts away to Alvechurch on Friday.

Tyrese Kamara also secured safety with London Colney on Saturday.

Will and Blue will both be involved with the first team for the final game of the season with a trip to Redditch.

Tyrese Kamara will not be involved as London Colney have a fixture.

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/ToolkitNew/webenrolment.aspx?page=~/webcontrols/courseapply.ascx&OfferingId=85258

JUNIOR CANARIES UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES

The final issue for the season will be sent out next week.

If you wish to sign up as a Junior Canary, please email juniorcanaries@hitchintownfc.club with the following details:

• Name, Date of birth, Address, School, Club Team (if applicable), Team you support, Parent/Guardian Name, Email, Contact Number.

We look forward to welcoming you all to the Junior Canaries.

END OF AN ERA

After our last game of the season at Redditch this Saturday it will be the end of an era for Hitchin Town FC as our chairman Terry Barratt is stepping down as chairman. He took over on 11th March 1991 so has given an incredible 34 years of loyal service to the club.

He did not have an easy start to his role as chairman. While he had been told there were debts he was led to believe they were in the region of £30,000 but in reality the figure was in to six figures. But Terry did not walk away and stayed to confront the problems. He met the players and advised them that if anyone wished to leave he would not stand in their way but he would ensure the wages would be paid to the end of the season. All the players agreed to stay.

Stability has been the main achievement of Terry’s reign. There have been no major crises and finances have been stabilised. Alongside Andy Melvin, Terry has ensured there is no bank overdraft, VAT and PAYE are paid on time as are all our suppliers. Hitchin Town is now respected as a well run debt free club and Terry deserves credit for this.

Terry also became a director of the Isthmian League for 10 years and then a director of the Southern League for 21 years where he also became chairman. He was very well respected and the clubs I visited all praised the job that Terry did.

The club have continued to improve their facilities during Terry’s time as chairman and Top Field has never looked better. On the field the last two seasons have been very disappointing but we have had exciting FA Cup runs and did reach the play-off final. Terry never attempted to undermine our managers over the years always offering his support where necessary.

Terry has been such a fixture at Hitchin it is hard to think of him not being around. Well I am pleased to say Terry has agreed to take the role of president so we will see plenty of him. I have enjoyed working alongside Terry for all his 34 years and on behalf of all Hitchin Town supporters I would like to say a very big thank you to Terry for his great service.

Taking over from Terry is Paul Sprague. Paul is a relative newcomer to the club having started to visit Top Field regularly in 2017/18. Before long Paul got involved initially providing some help covering social media at games before gradually taking on a more prominent role particularly during the crowd funding campaign where Paul worked closely with Stew and Matt in the social media team to ensure this was a huge success. Shortly after this Paul joined the Management Committee and has subsequently got more and more involved in ensuring the delivery of many initiatives in the last few years including kit, club shop, ground improvements, catering and match day improvements. In November 2023 Paul took on the role of Vice Chairman. I have no doubt Paul will prove to be an excellent successor to Terry so please give him your full support.

I also received a great tribute to Terry from our ex-keeper Tony Luff:

Hi Roy

Can you please pass on all my best wishes to Terry another great servant  to a very special club with great people and it was my great privilege to have played for Hitchin Town.

What a job Terry has done for Hitchin and both the Isthmian and Southern Leagues. I have had many conversations with Terry over the years and he was a true gentleman always welcoming whenever I saw him.

Well done Terry and hope to bump into you in the near future.

Tony Luff (Luffy)

GREAT GESTURE BY THE PLAYERS

This season our away coaches have been busier than ever with many of them completely sold out. As a gesture of thanks for such fantastic support the players have covered the cost of the supporters’ seats on this weekend’s coach to Redditch. Everyone who has purchased a seat online will receive a refund.

HARRY TITCHMARSH SENDING OFF OVERTURNED

We are pleased to confirm that we have been successful in appealing against the red card shown to Harry Titchmarsh during the match against Alvechurch last Friday.

Harry’s suspension has been overturned and he is available to play in Saturday’s match against Redditch United. We must thank Alvechurch for their help in our successful appeal.

After the game an Alvechurch official approached me to say he considered Harry’s sending off was incredibly harsh. He had reviewed their video footage and thought we would have good grounds to appeal. He offered to send the footage to me and it arrived the next day.

We put in our appeal to the FA and a special disciplinary commission met at 5.30pm on Wednesday. They informed us later that evening that our claim for wrongful dismissal had been successful.

So many thanks to Alvechurch without whose help we would  not have been able to appeal the decision of the referee.

COMMUNITY UPDATE BY MARK BURKE

Subbuteo Super Saturday

We have teamed up with Hitchin Library to celebrate its 100^th birthday and the original football club’s 160th year of being formed by arranging a Subbuteo football tournament to be held on FA Cup Final day (17th May 2025).

We hope the event will attract children who may have never played Subbuteo before and their parents / grandparents who used to play the game in their childhood. Please see the flyer for more details.

May Half Term Holiday Camps

The dates are out for the May Half Term Holiday Camps.

Children aged from 5 – 14 years can attend the Football Camp at the Arena whilst the Multi Activity Camp at Preston Primary school are for children aged between 4 – 12 years. (All children are welcome and do not need to be a pupil of Preston Primary.

The holiday camps at the Arena and at Preston Primary School are available to be booked on via the website www.northhertsarena.co.uk

Dates: Tuesday to Thursday 27-29th May 2025 (3 Days)
Cost: £60 p/w or £25 per day

HTWFC UPDATE BY CALLUM ELLIS

Sunday 13th April
HTWFC 0-3 MK United
Goffs Oak 5-0 HTWFC Canaries

Wednesday 23rd April
Bury Rangers 1 – 2 HTWFC

FIXTURES

Sunday 27th April – 14:00 (Double Header)
HTWFC v Harpenden Ladies
Hitchin Town FC, SG5 1NU

Sunday 4th May – 14:00 (Double Header)
Evergreen Eagles v HTWFC
Evergreen Eagles, WD5 0JL

We are  entering the closing stages of the 2024/2025 football season. Our Canaries are currently fifth, however with other teams having a couple of games in hand, it could see them fall to sixth.

Our HTWFC team could see themselves finish third if they win the last four fixtures and results go in their favour.

GREGG CUP FINAL AT TOP FIELD ON SATURDAY

Tickets are available on the turnstiles and payment can be made by cash or card.

STEVENAGE WOMEN FC AT TOP FIELD

Stevenage FC Women will play Haringey Borough Women FC in an Eastern Region Women’s Football League Premier Division match at Top Field on Tuesday 29th April.

KO is at 7.45pm.
Tickets are available on the gate priced at £6 and £2 for Concessions.

Roy Izzard