WEEKLY BULLETIN – 25TH MARCH
FIXTURES
- Saturday 26th March Away to Alvechurch League Coach leaves at 10.30am.
- There is no midweek fixture.
MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE
RUSHALL OLYMPIC
On a beautiful sunny Saturday we welcomed third in the table Rushall Olympic to Top Field. They had already nearly secured their play-off position. We started on the front foot but suffered a blow when Steve Cawley had to come off injured in the first fifteen minutes. However I was delighted by the attitude and application shown by his replacement Rio Desilva.
Jake Hutchinson continued his fine run of form and he scored a well constructed goal and we went in to half time with a one goal lead. The second half was an even affair played at a high tempo and we secured a well deserved victory with an excellent strike from Lewis Barker.
As they have all season, the crowd played their part by creating a very positive attitude and the pay what you want initiative again worked really well. The three points were very welcome at the end of the game and were certainly much needed as both Biggleswade and Lowestoft won.
STRATFORD
On Tuesday we played the rearranged game at Stratford.. I have to say the pitch was in excellent condition and was one of the best we have played on this season. It allowed us to play the football we are capable of producing in a performance that I believe saw us strike the perfect balance of playing when it was on to play and then defending properly and resolutely when required.
The energy expended on the night was reminiscent of teams I have managed with success in the past. I was delighted for Rio when he scored his goal because his performance warranted it. Overall it was an excellent victory with a thoroughly professional performance. There was also great pressure as we knew at half time that Biggleswade were leading 4-1 so a win became even more necessary.
ALVECHURCH
On Saturday we face another challenging fixture against a team vying for a play-off position. I will be looking to improve on my two previous visits to Alvechurch which resulted in 3-1 and 5-0 defeats. However the players are buoyed with recent performances with only one defeat in out last seven league games and we will be looking to add to our points tally.
MARK BURKE
PLAYER NEWS
- We signed three new players this week. Robbie Burns has put pen to paper and his return will help bolster the squad and we thank him for helping out. He has previously scored 56 goals in 192 appearances.
- With Thursday being transfer deadline day we also signed two goalkeepers on dual registration from Leverstock Green so we have emergency cover in case Charlie Horlock gets injured. They are Alfie Bonfield, son of ex Canary keeper Darren, and Tautis Poniskaitis. Many thanks to Leverstock Green manager Fergus Moore for his help and cooperation.
- Steve Cawley and Steve Gleeson face fitness tests ahead of the Alvechurch game.
CURRENT FORM TABLE
The current form table which is based on the last six results makes interesting reading. Not surprisingly Banbury are top with 16 points with Stourbridge second, Hitchin third and Redditch fourth all on eleven points.
Bromsgrove are bottom with no points with Needham Market five points and Barwell six points filling the next two places.
ATTENDANCE LEAGUE TABLE
Hitchin are seventh in the attendance league table with an average of 480. The top six are Bromsgrove 788, Stourbridge 734, Banbury 706, Tamworth 582, Hednesford 530 and Nuneaton 496.
Biggleswade are bottom with 193 followed by Leiston and St Ives with 233.
WILL WRIGHT
Everyone at Hitchin was delighted to hear that Will Wright, a product of our academy, has been selected for the England C squad for their fixture with Wales C on 30th March. Many congratulations to Will and his proud family who remain keen followers of Hitchin.
ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES
On Wednesday 23rd March we played away to 3rd in the table Enfield Town. We knew this was going to be a very tough match, especially when the following players were out due to playing for senior teams.
Stanley Georgiou and Malaki Black – both played 90 minutes in Tuesday 22nd March 1-0 away win against Stratford.
Kye Tearle on loan at step 4 Kempston Rovers
Nikolay Rusev, Flavius Drescanu and Ollie Trott all played in Letchworth’s 1-0 win over Langford on Wednesday 23rd March
Taylor Franklin made his debut for Baldock Town in their 2-0 defeat to Flackwell Heath on Wednesday 23rd March.
This on top of injuries meant we were only able to take 13 players in the squad.
Enfield a direct, physical team looked to take the authority of the match early on but the young canaries held strong. Enfield were very dangerous from set plays due to their physical presents. Not much really happened in the early exchanges but on the 30th minute Enfield took the lead from a free kick that was not properly cleared. Half time we came in at 1-0 down.
Second half we edge the early period without really creating anything and in the 75th minute a shot from distance (similar to the Cheshunt goal in the Herts Senior Cup) found its way into the top corner, 2-0. This spurred the young canaries on and after a great save from Daniel Weaver in goal, Matthew Blake went up the other end to bring us within one goal of the hosts. Despite putting in loads of effort and creating a few half chances we were unable to find the equaliser. The final score 2-1.
We have an open training session on Friday 8th April 2022. The session will be for players in school years 11, 12 and 13 who wish to be a part of our Academy for the 22-23 season.
The session will be held at The Arena, Norton Road, Baldock, Hertfordshire, SG7 5AU on the all-weather pitch.
For further information or to book your place please use this link – https://www.northhertsarena.co.uk/next-trial-dates
We are also holding an 11 aside match at Hitchin Town FC on Monday 11th April. This match will be invite only.
HTWFC UPDATE BY KARLA CHAFFEY
This weekend saw the final of our Football v Homophobia campaigns being hosted at Hitchin Town FC. It has been a wonderful privilege for our players to play at Top Field. Thank you to HTFC Radio who did live commentary on both days. The feedback has been tremendous and I didn’t do a too bad job either. A massive thanks to you, our supporters, it isn’t often we get supporters at our level. It surely does lift the women.
The XIs were at home to Houghton Athletic, plagued with injuries and COVID, we were told to get on with it. This is what Piper had to say. ‘The game started quite even with both teams enjoying an amount of possession. However it was the XIs who had the edge and looked more threatening with the ball. Chances fell however we just couldn’t put them in the back of the net. The half time break came and it was a needed rest battling with ten players and one of those was barely walking. The second half and we just struggled to get on the front foot. Houghton stepped their game up and made sure they tucked the ball in the net after some miscommunication. They doubled their lead after a questionable offside. Houghton added their third after a blatant handball in the box was controlled and sent into the net. A bad day at the office for us.’
The Canaries were at Top Field against bottom of the table BSC FC Women. The previous fixture brought nine goals so we were truly excited to see what would happen. Here is what Jamie Smith had to say:
‘The game started well for Stortford who managed to find their feet early and started knocking the ball around comfortably. They eventually found the back of the net after a bit of a mix up at the back for the Canaries. This goal opened the game up a bit with both teams pushing for the next goal. Wilson received the ball on the edge of the box and smashed the ball on the bar after a great effort.
Hitchin come knocking with Colyer, Mercer Carter and C.Edwards combining well to feed the ball through to Allen but the Stortford defence held up well and managed to get into the break 0-1 up.
After a big half time team talk we decided to change things up and change the formation to try create more space in the middle. The back 4. Jarrard, Schofield Armstrong and Amie’s started well playing the ball out from the back and feeding it to the midfield. Davies was a nuisance in front of goal giving the defenders nightmares by creating chances and almost finding the back of the net. New striker partnership C.Edwards and Allen worked well together combining and creating numerous chances but the Stortford keeper made some fantastic saves keeping the lead. GOAL and it’s the Assist Queen herself finding the back of the net with a quality ball through from C.Edwards 1-1 game on.
H.Edwards was bought down about 30 yards out and it was in the perfect position to use her sweet left foot she absolutely smashed the ball towards the top corner but again the keeper pulled off a great save. It was looking like both teams were going to settle for a point each. But Hitchin broke free on the counter after Mercer pinched the ball and passed to Lewis who then passed back to Mercer who found none other than Allen who comfortably beat the defence and then slotted it Home. Stortford put the pressure on to try find the equaliser but the Canaries had done enough to hold on and got the well deserved 3 points.
A special thank you to N. Barrett who ran the line for the full 90 minutes and a special thank you to Hitchin Town Football Club for giving the women of our club the opportunity to play at Top Field for our two games”
Managers player E Colyer
Players player C Edwards
HTFC radios player E Colyer
FIXTURES SUNDAY 27TH MARCH
BHWFL Division One
14:00 – HTWFC XI v Bedford Development Ladies FC
Allen Park, Old Ford End Road, Bedford
Chris Renshaw Cup Quarter Final
14:00 – HTWFC Canaries v Sherrardswood Ladies FC
Ickleford Sports and 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! We are also looking for Club Sponsors ! Please get in touch for further information.
BY ROY IZZARD