
WEEKLY BULLETIN – 3RD NOVEMBER
FIXTURES
- Saturday 4th November Away to Halesowen League kick-off 3.00pm. Coach leaves at 10.30am.
- Tuesday 7th November Away to Harpenden Friendly kick-off 7.45pm. This game will see the squad being fully utilised.
- As previously mentioned our trip to Stourbridge on Saturday 18th November was postponed due to their involvement in the FA Trophy. We have now brought forward the game with AFC Telford to Saturday 18th November from 25th November and we will now have a blank Saturday on 25th November. The game with Stourbridge has been rearranged for Tuesday 28th November and we are just awaiting confirmation from the Southern League although no problems are anticipated.
MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE
AFC Sudbury
Our last home match saw us defeat AFC Sudbury 2-1 to gain 3 points whilst a lot of other clubs were occupied with the FA Trophy. It was important that we won to put points on the board whilst other teams gain games in hand on us. I would rather have the points in the bag than games in hand.
Turning to the match itself, I thought we played some excellent football in the first half and created numerous chances that were either saved or poorly executed. The timing of the penalty that we scored on the stroke of half-time was certainly no more than we deserved but it was also much needed to boost our confidence going into the second half.
We started the second half where we left off the first and scored a second goal that proved to be the vital buffer we needed to win the match. I felt we were in control of the match but one slip up saw Sudbury get back into the game when they scored a penalty and this put them in the ascendency.
Our composure on the ball waned a little and credit to Sudbury as they put pressure on us and made life uncomfortable for us for the final part of the game. Although we did manage the match well in the dying minutes and secured the win
Stratford Town
We travelled to Shakespeare country on a wet and miserable Tuesday night and returned to Top Field with a hard fought victory.
I believe the journey took a lot out of the players and we did not start the match well, with Stratford enjoying a lot of possession and putting us under pressure without really hurting us. We weathered the storm and got ourselves into the game in the last 10 minutes of the first half without causing them any real problems.
We were a lot better in the second half and created the better chances with their keeper making a couple of good saves. The winning goal probably summed up the action from the whole match with it being very scrappy one.
However, I must applaud Toby Syme for showing the determination and desire to make sure the ball did hit the back of the net despite colliding with the post.
Halesowen Town
We travel to Halesowen on Saturday to face a very good team that lie just below us in the League table and are unbeaten in the League at home. They are very well supported, and it will certainly be a cauldron to play in, but this is exactly the type of match staff and players look forward to and want to be involved in.
Hopefully, we will bring a few fans of our own and create a really good atmosphere, like those at Top Field that we have experienced recently.
MARK BURKE
PLAYER NEWS
- Layne Eadie and Daniel Emovon will both return to the squad for the trip to Halesowen but Cieran Jones serves a one match suspension
GOOD RECORD AT STRATFORD
We have a really good record at Stratford. The win on Tuesday was our fourth consecutive win there following a 2-1 victory last season, a 1-0 win in 2021/22 and a 2-1 win in 2020/21. We drew 3-3 in 2019/20.
HALESOWEN ON SATURDAY
Looking at our record at Halesowen in our last five visits we have drawn three and lost two. Our last win was in 2004 when we won 3-1 with goals from Shane Hill, Darran Hay and Aaron Carvill.
In the current form table based on the last six games Halesowen are third and Hitchin fourth each with four wins a draw and a defeat. In the actual league table those placings are reversed. Haslesowen have an excellent home record with five wins and a draw from their six games.
HALLOWEEN TREATS
After the Sudbury game to mark Halloween Kate Deller handed out over 60 sweet treats to our younger fans which went down really well with them and their parents. This was another example of how Kate in particular is looking to improve the match day experience at Top Field and encourage supporters to want to come back.
The new range of Canary Kitchen pies also proved a great success at the Sudbury game and again it was a result of listening to what supporters want and trying to meet their requests.
We will continue to try and make Top Field the essential place to go for a great football experience.
ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES
Last week we held our open training session for both our boys and girls teams. These were a great success and we look forward to the next open training session.
On Wednesday 1st November we hosted F2 in two games in our development league.
In the first game a tightly contested match created few chances with F2 edging the game and Alfie Tebbenham in goal making a few good saves for us to keep it at 0-0.
The second half F2 took the lead after a defensive mix up but this kicked the young Canaries into action and they started to control the game. The equaliser came from a Chris Khoo corner which was headed in at the back post by Joel Jolly. Hitchin continued to press for the winner and in the 89th minute Gabriel Tonks crossed the ball for James Emerson to smash home at the back post. Final score finished with a 2-1 win for Hitchin.
In the second game this was a very entertaining match and a complete contrast to the first game. F2 raced into a 2-0 lead but a goal from Lewis Cooper made the score 2-1 at half time.
In the second half the goals continued with Chase James equalising from a long range effort. Jayden Banks then gave us the lead for the first time after a great individual run to smash the ball past the keeper. It was then F2’s turn to score and late on they equalised from a header after a corner. The game looked to be heading for a draw but two injury time goals by James Emerson gave Hitchin the 5-3 win.
A great Wednesday for the Academy with two wins from two games.
HTWFC UPDATE BY KARLA CHAFFEY
Due to the weather, the Firsts match was postponed to this weekend.
Fixtures this coming weekend:
BHWFL Cup
Hitchin Town Women FC Firsts : are away to Bedwell Ladies FC at Marriotts School, Brittain Way, Stevenage, SG2 8BL
BHWFL Division Two – Weather permitting
Hitchin Town Women FC Canaries : are home to EB Lions at St Christophers School, Barrington Road, Letchworth Garden City
Game is a 14:00 kick off.
We are also looking for new sponsors for the women’s set up. We are looking for sponsorship for training kits and tracksuits. If this is something you are interested in please get in touch with Callum on HTLFC.ClubSecretary@gmail.com.
BY ROY IZZARD