WEEKLY BULLETIN 29TH AUGUST
Upcoming Fixtures
Saturday 30 August vs Potters Bar Town (A)
We travel to Potters Bar Town on Saturday afternoon for our FA Cup First Qualifying Round match. Kick-off is at 3pm.
There is no coach to this game, but as always it’ll be great to see as many Canaries’ fans there as possible. They play at the Lantern Stadium, Parkfield, Watkins Rise (off The Walk), Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, EN6 1DP.
Should we draw the game and a replay is necessary then it will be at Top Field on Tuesday 2 September, kick-off 7.45pm.
Manager’s Notes
Win over Rayners Lane
We made the trip to Rayners Lane on Saturday. We started the game fast and created some very good chances in the opening few minutes. We then had one moment of quality with Lewis Franklin cutting in from the right to score in the far corner. We then continued to take the game to the hosts but were unable to capitalise. Rayners Lane always looked a threat on the break but did not really force Josh into a meaningful save. The game was played at a fast tempo and was very open meaning both teams were always a threat. Josh Jackman added a second after some great work from Callum Kane down the left to tap in at the back post. We should have at least added a further two more but we were more than happy with the lead we had at this stage.
Half Time we spoke about adding some more goals but also making sure we did not let Rayners Lane back into the game.
Second half both teams were a lot more compact and chances were few and far between. We did create a few chances but were unable to add to the score. We saw out the game 2-0 for another away win, without conceding a goal. This now means in competitive games we have kept a clean sheet in all three away games.
We had another strong following and must have had the majority of the 129 in attendance. Thank you for your continued support of the club.
Draw versus Barton Rovers
It was a quick turnaround for Monday as we hosted Barton Rovers. Barton were coming into this season after a play-off finish last year and had already won both their opening league games. It was a very hot day and we knew this was going to play a part in the game, especially after a hard performance on Saturday.
We controlled the game from the start and in the opening exchanges and Mbunya should have scored two goals but did not pull the trigger inside the 18-yard-box on both occasions. We continued to create chances but were struggling to make the Barton number one work. We were trying to get tempo into the game at the right times but with the heat and the drinks break, this played more into Barton’s hands as they were trying to take the tempo out of the game. Barton came on strong in the final 10 minutes of the half without forcing Josh into a save.
Second half we started strong again and it was not long before Kye Tearle added a moment of quality to give us a deserved lead on the balance of play.
Barton were yet to cause Josh any problems up the other end but then a long ball over the top was misjudged by Josh meaning he had to pull off a massive save to redeem his error. This resulted in him being down for treatment for a period of time. The initial assessment was his muscles were tightening around his shoulder and this may wear off.
I had to make the difficult decision to either take Josh off and put an outfielder in goal or allow him a period of time to see if the initial assessment was correct as we did not want to be too hasty with the sub as it was for an outfielder and not another keeper. We planned to see if this movement regained as Josh was a spectator for large parts of the game but as time went on we realised this injury was more serious than first thought. As we were in the process of finding an outfield substitute to go In goal and the ball to go out of play, Josh gave away a penalty as he was unable to use his arm.
Josh was then subbed and George Morrall went in goal, Barton slotted the penalty away to make the game 1-1. We still created enough chances to win the game but Callum Kane shot was just over, Josh Jackman’s also went over and Plamedi Bomolo’s went wide of the post. George up the other end did not have to make a save but did a good job coming out for the loose balls in the 20 minutes plus the 13 minutes of added time.
We created enough chances to win this game comfortably but we came away with a disappointing point.
I totally hold my hands up for the decision to leave Josh on the pitch and I accept full responsibility for the outcome of the penalty which led to us dropping two points. At the time we thought Josh’s symptoms would ease and we did not know the extent of the injury. I then should have acted quicker to make the substitution once we realised the injury was more serious than first thought, as Josh clearly did not have the range of movement we would have expected by this time. This would not only have been to potentially avoid the penalty that occurred but also for player welfare. This decision has hit me incredibly hard and I am still struggling to come to terms with it, as not only did it cost us a deserved win, it also jeopardised the safety of one of our players and I would never want to put anyone’s health at risk. This will never happen again.
I can only apologise to our huge support that this decision cost you a win you deserved.
We may not be as dominant as people first thought we would be at the start of the season as some may have underestimated the improvement in Step 4 in recent season’s but we have a new group of players that are still trying to find their rhythm together and in the 7 competitive games we have played we have only lost one while keeping 4 clean sheets in the process.
Thank you for continuing to get behind the club and I hope myself and the group of players can start to reward you with turning these draws into wins.
We can now take our mind off the league and turn our attention to trying to progress in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy.
FA Cup meeting with Potters Bar
Our reward for two hard games against Grays Athletic is a trip to Step 3 Potters Bar. Potters Bar the last few years have been a strong Step 3 team and this is a very tough fixture for our new squad.
We are missing a few key individuals for this fixture but this will give the opportunity for our squad to show what they can really do against better opponents.
We are excited for the challenge of what Saturday will bring and we will be trying absolutely everything to progress into the next round.
I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible Saturday.
Josh Bowler
I am sure everyone associated with the club is wishing Josh all the best with his recovery after he suffered a dislocated shoulder on Saturday. Josh has been an excellent addition to the club since joining in the summer and has already had some strong performances while only conceding 2 goals in our 7 competitive games, keeping 5 clean sheets in the process.
Player News
- We have signed goalkeeper Alfie Bonfield to cover for Josh Bowler while’s he’s injured. Alfie is the son of former Hitchin Town goalkeeper Darren, who appeared 106 times for the Canaries between 1997 and 2001.
- Lewis Barker is currently taking a break from football due to increased work commitments/personal issues.
- Fernando Bell-Toxtle played his first minutes in over a year this weekend for Newport Pagnell as he steps up his recovery from his long term injury.
- Tyrese Kamara is suffering with a hand injury at the moment and is unavailable to play.
- Will McNeill is on a dual registration with Biggleswade United.
- Liam Brooks is unavailable for the next two games against Potters Bar and Biggleswade Town.
- Josh Jackman is unavailable for the trip to Potters Bar.
- Josh Coldicott-Stevens is unavailable for the trip to Potters Bar.
Academy Update
We are in the process of enrolling our students onto the course for the upcoming season and everyone is due back in for education and training on Monday 8 September.
We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back and looking forward to working with the new players.
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
Michael Jones
FA Youth Cup
Next week sees our younger players start this season’s campaign in the FA Youth Cup. We have been drawn at home to Milton Keynes Irish – the game will be played at Top Field on Wednesday 3 September, and please note the earlier kick off time of 19:00.
Tickets, which cost £6 Adult, £4 Concessions (60-79), £2 Teenagers, £1 Children Under 13 accompanying an Adult., Seniors Over 80 Free, can be bought online from our ticket website. Link to sales is: https://hitchintownfc.ktckts.com/event/hit2526faycpr/hitchin-town-v-milton-keynes-irish-fa-youth-cup
Buying your tickets online in advance will speed up your entry into the ground. We will not be opening the turnstiles on this evening, and all ground entries will be via the side gate in the Top Field Car Park. If you are unable to buy a ticket in advance, the Matchday Ticket Office will be open for ticket sales – card payment very definitely preferred which helps us, and because this is not a first team game, we will accept cash only if the correct money is tendered, no change giving through the window will be undertaken. But it is stressed, we would prefer card payment please.
Here’s hoping some of you can make it along to see stars of the future in action.
Chris Newbold
Season Tickets Update
Very pleased to report that this week, we exceeded the number of Season Tickets purchased this season so far compared with the total for the whole of last season.
That is a fantastic achievement for us and here’s hoping that this level can go higher yet. If you haven’t purchased a season ticket – if you are a regular attender, it’s still not too late. Although we have played two home games already, a Season ticket will still give you entry to our remaining 19 League games and save you a substantial amount on the amount you would pay if you buy separate tickets to games. Price £168 for adults, £125 Concessions (60-79), £40 for a Teenager and £20 for a Child Under 13 accompanying an adult.
If you are not a regular attender at games but you attend a few, we are bringing back our Flexi Ticket deal for Adult and Concession tickets. Great discount for buying a bundle of five tickets. Watch this space for further information.
Chris Newbold
Online Fans Forum
Really pleased to see that in the past two weeks that Forum activity has picked up substantially and some good conversations and suggestions have come out of it. Would be great to get some new folks participating…..please take a look if you have time, we’d love to hear from you. Link is: https://forum.hitchintownfc.club/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=4d4c662cb61a5fcff18901f996ee5497
Chris Newbold
Merchandise Update
Sticker Collection
Our brand new squad sticker collection launched last Saturday and is already proving extremely popular. You can purchase the Collector Poster and packs of Stickers from the Club Shop on matchdays.
Poster £3
Stickers (pack of 6) £2 per pack
We also now have triple packs of stickers available to order online here, 3 packs of stickers for £6:
https://hitchintownfc.ktckts.com/merchandise/hit2526stick/3-packs-of-player-stickers
Replica Home Shorts
By popular demand we have now launched both adult and junior replica home shorts. These will be available online and at the club shop. Adult are priced at £20 and Junior are £16
Baseball Caps
Keep an eye out over the next few weeks as we will be launching a new range of baseball caps.
Paul Sprague
Monthly Online Draw
It’s the last couple of days to enter this month’s monthly online draw. 50% of the ticket sales goes to the club and the other 50% goes to the jackpot winner. Full details here:
https://hitchintownfc.club/monthly-online-draw/
Stuart Maynard
Congratulations to Stuart Maynard who has been appointed York City manager.
Stuart played 61 games for us between 2003 and 2004.
Reserve Team Football
As part of a bigger job of overhauling some of the historical content on the website and trying to preserve the history for posterity, I am in the process of trying to compile a history of results of all Hitchin FC/Hitchin Town Reserve teams from 1901 onwards. Why 1901 you might ask? Reason being that that was the first season that Hitchin FC ran a Reserve team in a competition.
Reserve teams. Some may think…what’s the point? There was a time when Reserve team football definitely had its place – it was the ideal platform for fringe/squad players to keep their sharpness up, bang in loads of goals and stay in contention for a first team call up, ideal for first team players coming back from injury to get vital minutes and match practice, and ideal for blooding promising up and coming youth team players with the potential to progress to the first team.
Unfortunately, running a Reserve team still costs, and to find dedicated people to run Reserve teams in today’s world is not easy. So sadly the ideal pathway for progression to the first team whilst staying at the same club is gone in most cases. Hitchin Town last ran a Reserve team in the 2010-11 season. But when it was a going concern, Reserve team football was a valuable part of most clubs. And Hitchin Town in particular, proved to have a thriving and occasionally successful Reserve team for many years. In undertaking this job, I have found out a number of discoveries that might not be known, even by the historical diehards who have been around a few years. For example:
- It has been well documented that Paul Giggle is the Club’s all-time highest appearance maker, with 760 first team appearances. But who knew that he spent quite some time during the swan song of his career playing for the Reserve team during the 1980s, which took his overall appearances total for the Club to 920?
- Current diehard supporter Paul Moon made an appearance for Hitchin Town Reserves on 17th October 1991, when he played in a 3-1 defeat at Kempston Rovers in the Southern Floodit Cup? Think it was one of those games where player availability was a challenge and our hero Moony stepped up. Barry Swain, our former programme editor and still regular Top Field attender, made a substitute appearance at this time as well!
- The 1990-91 season was the most successful in the history of Hitchin Reserve teams. They won the Essex and Herts Border Combination League Western Division, and they also won the Combination Cup and Southern Floodlit Cup. And then to top their season off, they won the match of Champions, beating Eastern Division Champions Leyton Wingate 1-0 in their own back yard! The successful team Manager? One Andy Melvin.
My original reason for writing this piece is that I have an unanswered question that I am wondering if any of our senior/older/vintage/veteran supporters might know? In the 1992-93 season, a Reserve team started the season, and played up till the end of November. All results were reported, with goal scorers, and then after the end of November in that season…..nothing. Everything suggests that the 1992-93 Reserve team was disbanded. Indeed, future news items in programmes suggest that the “stars” of the Reserve team were loaned out to other teams to get minutes and match practice (much like what happens today), but there is no definite confirmation that the team disbanded. I can’t find any info online on the Herts and Essex Border Combination for that time either. Does anyone know anything? Please contact me if you do…thanks.
Chris Newbold
Message from our Club Chaplain
Since I arrived at St Mark’s we have been having an ongoing conversation about how our words matter – that is they can have a huge impact on people. To this end, we recently signed off our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy, so that all people who come to church will be treated the same. We also talk about how actions really matter too, particularly as Christians, what we say and do should be honouring to God and to our faith. Even when things don’t go our way, how we respond both verbally and in our actions say an awful lot about who we are.
The summer has been dominated by the sad, sad tale of the Newcastle player, Alexander Isak who wants a move to Liverpool. He has 3 years left to play on his current contract with Newcastle, who have, in fairness, tried to find a replacement for him. Liverpool have made an offer of 110million pounds which was apparently not enough for Newcastle to part with him. The result? Isak has now “downed tools” as it were and is not training or playing with his team mates. Which makes things tricky because if he doesn’t get a move to another club, trying to reintegrate him into the team at Newcastle might prove too difficult. Contrast that with Eberechi Eze, formerly of Crystal Palalce. He also wanted a move, seemed interested in a move to Spurs but Arsenal made a great counter-offer and he made his move there. He continued to train and play throughout the negotiations and honoured his commitment to his current club. Ian Wright has described it as “divine intervention that led Eze to London’s red half instead of joining bitter rival Spurs”. I’ll leave you to ruminate on that comment! Two great players, two completely different tales – because what we say and how we act matters (and not just for Pro footballers.)
Maxine Howarth
Hitchin Belles in the Women’s FA Cup
Hitchin Belles kick off their 2025-26 Women’s FA Cup campaign hosting Leyton Orient Women at Top Field on Sunday 7th September. Kick off is 2pm and its Free Entry.
Hitchin Town Women’s FC
We are close to completing our pre-season preparations with just one session left. We headed over to Top Field for our last session on grass and a cheeky photoshoot! So a huge thank you to all those involved.
We now focus on moving our sessions over to The Arena, Norton Road, Baldock, SG7 5AU, for our last preseason session. Sessions are from 19:30-20:30 every Wednesday evening all the way through to March 2026!
After pre-season ends we still have player recruitment open through till March 2026! We know players move around quite early on in the season due to playing time so if you are without a club, do get in touch with us today!
hello@hitchintownwomenfc.co.uk
Callum Ellis
Community Update
We have two courses running between September and the October half-term – please see below for more details.
Mark Burke