WEEKLY BULLETIN – 4TH MARCH

FIXTURES

• Saturday 5th March Away to Leiston League kick-off 3.00pm. Coach leaves at 10.45am.
• There is no midweek fixture.
• The recently postponed game away to Stratford will now take place on Tuesday 22nd March kick-off 7.45pm.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

BIGGLESWADE TOWN

I was very happy to reward our supporters with three points to move off the bottom of the table. As I said before the game the supporters were very helpful in getting us over the line. It was an anxious game which was not surprising with so much at stake. However it was won by a piece of quality football with Cieran Jones providing a very good pass to Steve Cawley who produced an exquisite chip over the goalkeeper.

We deserved our 1-0 lead at half time and came out for the second half with a full press. We had a great chance to make it 2-0 and had we taken this chance it would have settled us down. Failure to do so made us a little more anxious and Biggleswade took the game to us as they sought the equalizer.

I was pleased with a solid defensive performance that secured the victory and set us up nicely for Tamworth.

TAMWORTH

The heavy rain made conditions difficult and it led to a very zippy surface. Tamworth arrived after a 6-0 victory on Saturday and were full of confidence. I thought we matched them all the way in a very hard fought game. Overall I think a draw was a fair result and I think it will prove a valuable point in our quest for safety.

LEISTON

We travel to Leiston on Saturday on the back of a three game unbeaten run and we will be trying our hardest to return to Top Field unbeaten. We have already played Leiston twice and they are a good footballing side. It should be a very entertaining game for the supporters and I am sure we will again have a good following.

MARK BURKE

PLAYER NEWS

• Steve Gleeson faces a fitness test after suffering an injury against Tamworth.

FA CUP ENTRY
It hardly seems possible but last Friday I completed the application form for Hitchin Town to enter the 2022/23 FA Cup. This was before any of this season’s fifth round games had been played! The form also included entry to the FA Trophy and FA Youth Cup.

ATTENDANCE
Many thanks to our supporters who turned up in such big numbers last Saturday against Biggleswade. The attendance of 796 was our highest for a league game since 812 saw us play Chippenham in April 2017 in our play-off final season.

Your great support is really appreciated and it is so good to see so many new faces at Top Field. It is particularly pleasing to see the change in the profile of our crowd as the average age has certainly come down while there are far more female supporters and more family groups as well as more children generally. Long may this continue as we want Hitchin Town to be an integral part of the local community.

We want to build on this increase in attendances and will announce further initiatives shortly.

CLUB SHOP
Please visit our online club shop to see the wide range of merchandise available. Sales have been above our expectations so many thanks for your great support.

ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES
On Wednesday 2nd March we played at home against Hertford Town FC in the National Youth Alliance League.

We had played Hertford earlier on in the season and with a very good performance we came away with a very impressive 3-0 win. Hertford have been the best footballing team we have played this season so we knew this game was going to be a very difficult.

The match started with Hertford moving the ball really well and we were struggling to get success from pressing but after 15 minutes we started to get more success and started turning over the ball higher up the pitch, which helped us create half chances. In the 25th minute after some good pressing the ball dropped to Flavius Drescanu who finished extremely well from inside the box. We then started to create more chances but were unable to add anymore goals meaning at half time it was 1-0.

The second half started similar to the first with Hertford coming out strongly and creating some very good chances but were unable to take them. Credit to Hertford they kept playing good football and caused us all sorts of problems but the defence held strong. As the game went on Hertford became more and more threatening and if it was not for some incredible saves from Daniel Weaver in goal they might have won this match!!

The score finished 1-0 to us and although we were not at our best we managed to get the points and the clean sheet.

We remain second in the table putting pressure on top spot with games in the next two weeks at home against the team in third place and away against the current league leaders. We will need to be at our best to get something from these games.

If you are interested in joining the Academy or want further information, then please complete this link –
https://www.northhertsarena.co.uk/next-trial-dates

HTWFC UPDATE BY KARLA CHAFFEY
We are proud to announce that we are supporting the FvH campaign. As you saw in an article we released earlier in the week we are committed to creating a safe and enjoyable atmosphere for all.

We had one game this weekend and that was the XI v Herts Vipers Development. Manager Gemma Smith had this to say ‘Hitchin Town XIs returned to league action after 3 weeks without a game, travelling to Herts Vipers Dev.

The XIs prepped themselves for a tough game against a very young and talented Vipers side. Vipers started well, moving the ball quickly through the middle and putting pressure on the XIs defence. The XIs gave them a good game but after 20 minutes, Vipers were awarded a penalty and it was slotted nicely into the back of the net, 1-0 Vipers.

The XIs adapted to the fast pace and tried to not chase or dive in and certainly had their chances with some great attacking football.

35 minutes in and Vipers crossed the ball in which hit the crossbar and was followed up making it 2-0. The XIs changed their formation quickly which added more attacking players which allowed for more of an outlet up top.

HT 2-0.

The second half saw much of the same and Vipers extended their lead 15 minutes into the second half after a great solo effort by their player.

The XIs never gave up and continued to attack and after a brilliant bit of play from Watson who passed the ball in brilliantly into the feet of Evans who controlled the ball and hit the back of the net, they got their goal, 3-1. The XIs were still in the game and Darling was unlucky not to score after putting pressure on their keeper who tried to play out from the back, Darling intercepted the ball but put the ball slightly wide.

Game ended 3-1.

Despite the score the game certainly set the XIs up for a good league run as they’ve come away knowing what they need to work on, hopefully with no more rest weeks they can concentrate on coming back stronger and fitter. We welcomed Huffer back to the XIs after being with Biggleswade United for a season. Welcome home !

POTM went to Watson who had an excellent game.‘

FIXTURES

SUNDAY 6TH MARCH 2022

14.00 – HTWFC XI V GARSTON LADIES SENIOR SECTION RESERVES
BEDS & HERTS WOMENS FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
HITCHIN TOWN FC, FISHPONDS ROAD, HITCHIN

14:00 – KEMPSTON ROVERS FC V HTWFC CANARIES
BEDS & HERTS WOMENS FOOTBALL LEAGUE, CHRIS RENSHAW CUP, ROUND TWO
KEMPSTON ROVERS FC, HILLGROUNDS ROAD, KEMPSTON, MK42 8SZ

Keep up to date with all the live scores & fixtures, Twitter @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 22:00, all abilities welcome! We are also looking for Club Sponsors ! Please get in touch for further information.

BY ROY IZZARD