WEEKLY BULLETIN – 28TH OCTOBER

FIXTURES

• Saturday 29th October Home to Potters Bar Herts Senior Cup kick-off 3.00pm. Tickets must be purchased online and this includes season ticket holders as this is a cup game. We are offering supporters discounted prices as follows—adults £8 concessions £5 teenagers £2 under 13’s £1 and over 80’s free.
• Tuesday 1st November Away to Nuneaton League kick-off 7.45pm. Coach leaves at 4.00pm.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

TAMWORTH

On Saturday we travelled to table topping Tamworth who had won seven consecutive league games so were in a rich vein of form. Therefore I knew it would not be easy but we did not help ourselves by conceding a goal in the first minute. We then had to endure a large amount of pressure and Tamworth created a number of chances. I did feel we should have had a penalty which would have given us the chance to equalise. But it was not given and we went to the break trailing 1-0.

The play was fairly even after the restart but we unfortunately conceded a second goal which I firmly believe should have been disallowed for a clear foul on Charlie Horlock. Tamworth were then awarded a penalty which I felt was the correct decision but was no different from the incident when we were denied a penalty. Charlie made a good save from the spot kick and this proved to be the turning point of the game as it lifted us and took the wind out of the Tamwoth sails. We got on the front foot and took the game to them especially after Steve Cawley and Jack Snelus came on.

We scored a well worked goal and then exerted our own pressure and pushed through to the final whistle and nearly stole a point from the game. While I was disappointed with the result I was happy with the way we finished the game which I hoped would carry over to the Stratford game.

STRATFORD

The first half at Stratford was a very even affair but I think we came closest to scoring when Finley Wilkinson hit the underside of the bar. The second half followed a similar pattern until Stratford scored the opening goal. This came after we had made a substitution and not settled in to our new formation.

However we responded well and did not let the setback affect us. The equalising goal was rather fortunate as a defensive error allowed Ashley Hay to score his first league goal. This lifted us even more and we scored a well worked and well taken goal to win the game late on.

It was very pleasing to come away with three points and made the long journey home worthwhile.

POTTERS BAR

This Saturday sees us take a break from league action as we play Potters Bar in the Herts Senior Cup. Potters Bar are currently top of the Isthmian League premier division, They have won 9 and drawn one of their 13 games and their away record is 5 wins and one defeat. This tells us it will be a difficult match but it should be entertaining. I look forward to welcoming ex-Canary Isaac Galliford back to Top Field and I hope our excellent supporters take advantage of the reduced admission prices to come out and continue the great support they have given us all season.

NUNEATON

On Tuesday we have another tough away game as we travel to Nuneaton who are currently third in the table having started the season really well. We will need to produce a better performance than last season when we were really poor.

MARK BURKE

PLAYER NEWS

• Jack Morrell has an operation booked for 16th November and then faces a 6-8 week recovery period.
• Kye Tearle has returned to light training.
• Josh Coldicott-Stevens will be out for about 2 weeks.
• Having missed the last two games Toby Syme will return to the squad on Saturday.

LATE RETURN
The life of a non-league footballer is far removed from the millionaire Premier league players. On Tuesday our players had to leave work early to get to the ground for a 4.00pm departure to Stratford. Horrendous problems on the M1 led to huge delays on the return journey and the coach returned to Top Field just before 3.00am. Even then the players had to drive home and some would not have got to bed before 4.00am—and then have to be up in a few hours to go to work. So it is far from glamorous at our level and supporters and officials on the coach suffered the same way.

MERCHANDISE NEWS BY PAUL SPRAGUE
We have lots of Hitchin Town merchandise available in the club shop at Top Field and online. You will no doubt have seen in the media that many clubs have struggled with supply of kit and merchandise this season and we have not been immune to this problem with some issues with our supply from Hummel. Overall though we have kept things relatively well stocked and we currently have all items available (with the exception of junior away shirts in small and medium). We cannot however guarantee how long it may take to restock some items once our current supplies run out between now and Christmas.

Working with KC Sports we will try and maintain good availability however if you have your eye on any specific items of clothing for Christmas presents we would advise you to purchase as early as possible. Please call in on Saturday when visiting Top Field and have a look around.

From this Saturday we will also have two of Neil Frederik Jensen’s books available at a reduced price of just £5 for a copy of both books!

Tales of the Town (a history of football in Hitchin) and Mittel (a book of European football stories). This book bundle would make a great gift.

HERTS SENIOR CUP
If we beat Potters Bar on Saturday we will be at home to Hadley or Stevenage in the quarter-finals. The other three ties are as follows—

• Berkhamsted v Royston or Enfield
• St Albans or Cheshunt v Hemel Hempstead
• London Lions v Hertford or Watford Under 21’s.

ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES
On Friday 21st October we broke up for the half term break with a paintballing team bonding event. This was great to see all the players off of the training pitch and out of the classroom in a totally different environment. Everyone loved the day, especially the staff as they ran out deserved winners across all of the challanges. We will be running another team bonding event before we break up for Christmas.

On Monday 24th October we held our first open training session of the season. This was extremely well attended. Head coach Stephen Gleeson was very impressed with the day and how well all the players did throughout the session. We are now looking forward to the next open training session.

If you want to be a part of the Academy or to find out more information please register your details here – https://www.northhertsarena.co.uk/next-trial-dates

We are back in league action next week as we return from the half term break.

HTWFC UPDATE BY KALA CHAFFEY
It was return of League action for both clubs on Sunday however the rain stopped play for the First team. They will face Everett at a different point in the season. The Canaries were finally playing at home after a number of changes to their fixtures. They were at home to Bury Rangers who the Canaries had previously beaten twice the previous season in the County Cup & Chris Renshaw Cup.

This is what Callum had to say about the game–

‘The Canaries have had a slow start to the season so far only picking up a sensational win over Knebworth in the County Cup but had suffered some significant losses recently. With morale quite low and the season quickly progressing it was time to try and turn things around. With a structured yet vibrant team talk the Canaries were buzzing to get the game underway and they did just that. The Canaries punished Bury many times pressing them deep into their own half. Bury stood strong and refused to be beaten. Shots for Colyer, Chaffey and Edwards fell just short or wide.

Bury showed us one tactic all game which was a long kick from the keeper’s hands which got boring after ten minutes in. Each ball she sent in was calmly delt with by Amies & Cracknell. Armstrong and Fursland were on hand to stamp out any central counter attack from Bury. GOAL! Chaffey! Chaffey opens the scoring after a sweet delivery from Edwards. The Canaries started feeling the wind within their wings and started pushing for more. GOAL! CHAFFEY!! Chaffey fires a shot off of the post after a ball through by Colyer. The linesperson had his flag up however the referee overruled. The Canaries were flying and Bury were incredibly frustrated. The half time whistle blew.

The Canaries were slow to react in the first five minutes and Bury took advantage and pulled a goal back. Bury started to manage their game plan better however the long balls were still dealt with easily by the firm defence of Hitchin. The midfield battle was won throughout by Hitchin and they commanded the direction of the game. The Canaries brushed the cobwebs away and slowed the play down. The whistle blew and the Canaries got their first league win of the season and this should be a pick up going forward. It certainly was nice to win in front of some very disrespectful fans following Bury.

Both teams are in action this weekend and each is a 14:00 kick off,

Sherrardswood V Hitchin Town Women FC Firsts
Sherrardswood School, Welwyn

Wheathampstead v Hitchin Town Women Canaries
Marford Road, Wheathampstead

Keep up to date with all the live scores & fixtures, Twitter @HitchinTownWFC or on Facebook, Hitchin Town Womens FC

We are currently recruiting new sponsors to help us cement our future. We are looking for sponsors to help us develop a women’s club to be the best in Hertfordshire. Please get in touch for further information.

BY ROY IZZARD