WEEKLY BULLETIN – 3RD DEC

FIXTURE

Saturday 4th December home to AFC Rushden & Diamonds League kick-off 3.00pm. Tickets must be bought via our website.

There is no midweek game.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

BARWELL

Last Saturday we travelled to play Barwell on their new 3G pitch. Unfortunately there was a gale force wind blowing which made it very difficult to play attractive football. However with the wind at our backs we were well on top in the first half. We thoroughly deserved our 1-0 lead at half time but with the wind against us in the second half we set out to try and manage the game in a similar fashion to the way Alvechurch played against us in the previous game. The plan was working well until Barwell equalised with a freak of a goal that took advantage of the wind. This lifted Barwell and brought them back in to the game.

Then another wind assisted goal gave Barwell the lead. A ferocious shot from 25 yards gave Charlie Horlock no chance and we were 2-1 down. We were able to get in to some good positions to get the equaliser but again our finishing let us down. On the balance of play a draw would have been a fair result but as we have found too often this season football is rarely fair.

AFC RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS

We entertain Rushden on Saturday and they are currently in a rich vein of form. They are currently 5th in the current form league table with 4 wins and a draw from their last 6 games. We can therefore expect a difficult game but I take confidence from our recent performances and I feel we can achieve a much needed victory.

I urge all our supporters to continue to get behind the team and to help us turn that corner. Your loyalty has been much appreciated by myself and the players and we are determined to reward you for that support.

PLAYER NEWS

• Jordan Kinoshi trained last night and will be in the squad for the Rushden game.
• Kye Tearle remains on the injured list.
• Sam Meakes has picked up an injury and will miss the Rushden game.

LUTON TOWN UNDER 23’s AT TOP FIELD
On Tuesday Luton Town Under 23’s drew 1-1 with the UK Armed forces team. The game was streamed live on Facebook by BFBS and had 13,000 views. It is good to see Top Field shown around the world! The commentators were very complimentary about the club and the ground while we continue to cement our relationship with Luton Town.

SUPPORT FOR SHELTER
In December Hitchin Town FC will be supporting the Shelter No Home Kit Campaign. This is what Shelter hope to achieve according to their website:

“On Boxing Day this year, we’re asking football clubs and fans to swap their home shirt for their away or third kit in aid of people who don’t have a safe place to call home. We want as many teams, players and fans as possible to join our #NoHomeKit campaign and work with us to help people dealing with homelessness and unsafe housing this winter.

By joining the campaign you’ll be helping raise awareness of the housing emergency and raising vital funds to help us fight it.’’

We will wear our away kit at Royston on Boxing day and hope as many supporters as possible wear their replica away shirts.

To show our support we have decided to donate £10 to Shelter from the sale of every away shirt in December. You can purchase an away shirt online or at the club shop.

THE 50/50 DRAW IS BACK
We are pleased to announce that the popular 50/50 draw will return for the game with Rushden on Saturday and will be back for all future home games. It is your chance to help the club with a chance of winning a decent prize. Tickets are £1 and you can buy as many as you like. Please bring plenty of £1 coins with you and remember you have to be in it to win it!

MERCHANDISE UPDATE
There will be a new item in the club shop tomorrow. You will be able to buy mugs in the away shirt colours for £5. They can also be bought online.

Green fleeces are also now on sale but in the club shop only at a cost of £35.

Coming soon we will be selling black beanie hats at £8 and black bobble hats at £10. We hope they will be available at the Tamworth game.

To ensure delivery before Christmas the last date for online purchases is Sunday 12th December.

COACH TICKETS
Coach tickets can now be purchased online for our next two away fixtures. On Saturday 11th December we travel to Stourbridge with a departure time of 10.30am. Then on Tuesday 14th December we travel to Rushall Olympic with a departure time of 3.45pm. Tickets are £10.

ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES
We are pleased to announce that Stephen Gleeson has joined our Pro:Direct Academy Hitchin Town FC coaching team.

We are delighted to have Stephen on board with us as his experience and knowledge of the professional and international game will be so valuable for all our aspiring players we have in the Academy.

Stephen’s playing career started off with Wolves FC in 2006 before moving on to play for Milton Keynes Dons, Birmingham City, Ipswich and Aberdeen to name a few. Stephen has also been capped by his country Ireland, scoring for them.

Stephen is now playing for Hitchin Town First team and this will help strengthen the pathway between our youth team and the first team as Stephen will know what is required to play at this level and will be able to work with the players daily to give them the best possible chance of making the step up to play for the first team.

On Tuesday 14th December Pro:Direct 11 are playing against Arsenal Under 17s Academy at Top Field, 7pm kick off. This will be a FREE entry game so it would be good to see as many supporters attend as possible. There will also be a FREE boot giveaway for anyone who is between the ages of 16-18 who registers before.

Our next open training session will be Wednesday 22nd December at The Arena, Norton Road, Baldock, Hertfordshire, SG7 5AU at 4pm. To register your interest or for further information please use this link below – https://www.northhertsarena.co.uk/next-trial-dates

HTWFC UPDATE BY KARLA CHAFFEY
So it should have been a return to league action this weekend but Bedford Ladies Development cancelled our game on the Saturday. Then we had the frost cancelling the Canaries fixture on the morning of their game.

On a lighter note ! We are partnering up with Clare Waller at Molly Malones in helping struggling families this Christmas with food parcels. We have set up two donation points which are at The Canary Club & The Arena. We are looking for a variety of foods & toiletries to help struggling families out there. When you do a food shop please think about those less fortunate and help us help our community. We will be collecting the donations on 18th December 2021.

Keep up to date on our Twitter with all the live scores @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 21:30, all abilities welcome!

CANARY CLUB EVENTS UPDATE BY KATE DELLER