Weekly Bulletin

WEEKLY BULLETIN – 29TH JULY

18

FIXTURES

  • Saturday 30th July away to Biggleswade United Friendly kick-off 3.00pm.
  • Tuesday 2nd August away to Cambridge City Friendly kick-off 7.45pm. This game will be played at Histon.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

STOTFOLD

It was good to travel to Stotfold on Saturday and meet up with many old friends from days gone by and of course it was great to lock horns again with Brett ‘’Digger’’ Donnelly. I thought we started the game well and on the front foot but then suffered a set back when we conceded an early goal from a set piece. I was pleased with our reaction as we did not crumble and took the disappointment in our stride. We equalized with a fine Kye Tearle strike and up to half time the game was even.

In the second half we were in control of the game and defended comfortably and looked dangerous going forward. I was happy we scored from a set piece of our own which turned out to be the winner. I have always said that results do not matter in pre-season games and that is still the case except for when you are playing against Digger Donnelly!! To be serious Brett has assembled a strong squad and Stotfold will be well equipped for their new league and I wish him well for the season.

WATFORD

I would like to thank Omar Rizza and his assistant Richard Shaw for sending a strong team to Top Field. It included first team players such as Tom Cleverley and Ashley Fletcher. The game was a good exercise for both teams with the tempo being set at a pace we will be looking to emulate in the season.

We did have to defend resolutely which I thought we did very well and we looked well organized. I also thought we looked dangerous on the counter attack which caused Watford some problems. However we did lack a cutting edge and we will be working on this over the next week.

BIGGLESWADE UNITED/ CAMBRIDGE CITY

We end our pre-season programme with two away trips to Biggleswade United and Cambridge City. These two games will provide tough tests ahead of our league opener at Barwell.

Mark Burke

PLAYER NEWS

  • Stan Georgiou and Malaki Black both started light training last night.
  • Josh Coldicott-Stevens is progressing well and is ahead of schedule in his recovery from foot surgery.
  • Steve Gleeson is still sidelined through injury.
  • Jack Green will not play at Biggleswade but will return for the Cambridge game.
  • Finley Wilkinson will return for the Cambridge game.

TOMMY EVERITT AND FRANK KING

You will no doubt have seen on our social media outlets that we have suffered the loss of two great stalwarts of the club. Legendary player and hall of famer Tommy Everitt was considered one of our all time great players who played in both of our FA Amateur Cup semi-finals while Frank was one of our most committed supporters and a great volunteer behind the scenes. Our family at Hitchin is suddenly all the poorer for the loss of two great servants. RIP Tommy and Frank. Please find links to tributes to Tommy and Frank.

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Can I thank everybody who attended our home pre-season games. Attendances were exceptional and I have compared this season to the last ten and numbers have increased considerably. We had 2,213 for Luton, 680 for Stevenage, 299 for Boreham Wood and 378 for Watford. So many thanks for your continued support—it is much appreciated.

THANKS FROM A SUPPORTER

I received the following email from Darren Jones and felt it should be shared with supporters as it shows our attempts to create a safe and friendly match day experience is being appreciated by supporters. Thank you for your kind words Darren.

My father-in-law, a lifelong HTFC fan, is 85, so we wanted to leave 5 minutes from time, so we could beat the rush and get him back to the car.

Unfortunately, he stumbled at the back of the terrace* behind the goal and scraped his arm, with a chunk of skin sliding away.
Upon us leaving the ground, a HTFC staff member had a sixth sense and could see something was afoot.
I told her what had happened and she was absolutely wonderful, taking Ken (Pateman) into the offices behind the goal, sitting him down, cleaning him up and putting some dressing and plasters on.
She then told me to get the car and bring it to the exit gate, where she would take Ken and wait.

It was a wonderful touch and something that makes clubs like HTFC what they are.

Would appreciate you passing on our thanks…

Thanks, Darren “Statto” Jones.

MERCHANDISE UPDATE BY PAUL SPRAGUE

The following items are now available both online and from Top Field on match days, as well as all the merchandise lines from last season:

Adult and junior home shirts

These are available in all sizes £40 adult and £32 junior.

Adult away shirts

The brand new design shirts are now available in size S,M,L,XL. We are still waiting for delivery of 2XL and 3XL from Hummel and these will hopefully be available later in August. Priced at £40.

Junior away shirts

The brand new design shirts are now available in size Junior L, XL, 2XL and 3XL. We are still waiting for delivery of S and M from Hummel and these will hopefully be available soon. Priced at £32.

Baseball Caps

Black baseball caps priced at £12. A green version should be available from late August.

ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES

On Tuesday 26th July, Academy player Callum Kane started for the first team against a Watford XI team. Callum had a very good game and HTFC Radio gave Callum their man of the match award. Callum has impressed during his time training and playing with the first team and has signed first team forms as a result of this.

We also had players involved in the Pro:Direct 11 squad for their game against Southampton Academy on Wednesday 27th July. This again shows the strength of our academy squad.

We start our pre season training on Monday 1st August and we are looking forward to having another successful season both on and off the pitch.

FA YOUTH CUP

Prices have now been set for our FA Youth Cup game with Godmanchester on Wednesday 17th August. They are adults £4, concessions £2, teenagers and children U13 £1, over 80s FREE. Tickets will be on sale from Friday 29th July through our website.

COACH TO BARWELL

Tickets for coach travel to Barwell on Saturday 6th August go on sale from Friday 29th July online. We are keeping prices at £10 again this season. The Barwell coach will leave at 11.00am.

BY ROY IZZARD