FIXTURES

  • Saturday 5 October away to Maidstone United Emirates F A Cup kick-off 3.00pm. Coach leaves at 11.30am.
  • If this game is drawn the replay will be at Top Field on Monday 7 October kick-off 7.45pm. Otherwise there is no midweek fixture.

MAIDSTONE ARRANGEMENTS
For all those of you who are travelling to Maidstone, here is information which you may find useful:

  • Directions to the Gallagher Stadium are online here.
  • There is only very limited parking at the ground for players and officials. Supporters travelling by car can park at Sandling Road pay and display (ME14 1AA) – this is a five minute walk away. Other car parks are listed here.
  • The nearest train stations are Maidstone East (London Victoria) or Maidstone Barracks (Medway Valley Line/London St Pancras International). Both stations are approximately ten minutes from the ground.
  • There are home and away sections for this match. Away fans will be admitted via the North End Entrance, opposite the Kent History & Library Centre on James Whatman Way.
  • Admission prices for this fixture are:
    • Adults: £10.00
    • Concessions (65+/students with valid ID): £5.00
    • Youth (11 to 16 year olds): £5.00
    • Junior (Under 11): Free (must be accompanied by a paying adult)
  • There are 28 seats available in the Genco Stand. These seats form part of our allocation and will be labelled as Priority Seating for senior citizens and those with disabilities. No seats can be pre-booked and Maidstone have left the area to be self-governed, which has worked extremely well so far.
  • The clubhouse is within the home section. There are a couple of pubs on Sandling Road (five minute walk) and the town centre is seven minutes away.
  • There is a refreshment kiosk next to the stand, serving hot and cold drinks and snacks.
  • Supporters in a wheelchair can be accommodated in the Genco Stand. Booking is advisable via 01622 753817 or office@maidstoneunited.co.uk. Disabled supporters pay the above admission fee, with a registered carer admitted free of charge.
  • Dogs are not permitted in the ground.
  • The ground is completely no smoking.

Only four coach seats remain so book now to avoid disappointment – click here to do so. First come, first served.

Prize money on Saturday is £11,250 to the winners and £3,750 to the losers.

The draw for the fourth qualifying round will be live on talkSPORT2 at 1.30pm on Monday.

PLAYER NEWS

  • Our three new signings will not be playing at Maidstone. Ben Walster and Bradley Bell are cup tied while Jhai Dhillon is unavailable due to a work commitment.
  • Lewis Barker begins a three game suspension on Saturday and misses games against Maidstone, Bromsgrove and Royston.
  • James Verney is now available for selection.
  • Alex Anderson faces a late fitness test.
  • Mohammed Ahmed has joined Banbury.

JOHN STILL
We cross paths once again with non-league football legend John Still on Saturday. He is Head of Football at Maidstone in his second spell at the club. We have crossed paths with John many times over the years both as a player and manager. He was a very uncompromising old school centre back and played in the Dagenham team we beat 2-1 in the London Senior Cup semi-final on 28 March 1970 on the way to beating St Albans in the final. John also played against us for Bishops Stortford while he has been manager of Leytonstone & Ilford and Dagenham & Redbridge in games against us. He has also been manager of Luton when we have met in pre-season friendlies.

I spoke to John before the most recent game and he had fond memories of Hitchin and could well remember games against us. Having joined Leyton Orient in 1967 John has been involved in football for a remarkable 52 years and has been a manager for more than 1,000 games. He has been awarded the freedom of the borough of Barking and Dagenham and the borough of Luton. He has won many promotions in his career and was three times League 2 manager of the month.

Elite Soccer Coaching magazine has stated that Still’s “likeable character” and ability to find and develop players from the non-League game have made him one of the most respected coaches in English football. It will be great to meet John again on Saturday and let us hope we can repeat that London Senior Cup result!

REARRANGED FIXTURE
We will now play at Leiston on Tuesday 29 October kick-off 7:45pm. This game was originally due to be played this Saturday but instead we play our Emirates FA Cup game at Maidstone United.

FA YOUTH CUP
Congratulations to our under 18 side who beat Peterborough Sports 8-4 in a really entertaining game at Top Field on Wednesday. It deserved to be seen by more than the 52 spectators present as we progressed to the third qualifying round..

In the third qualifying round ties we have been drawn at home to King’s Lynn Town and the game will be played week commencing 14 October. This is the last qualifying round and Football League clubs enter the competition in the first round proper with Premier League clubs entering in the third round proper.

NON-LEAGUE DAY
This year we are home on Non-League Day. We welcome the Southern League’s best-supported side to Top Field, Bromsgrove Sporting.

You could choose to watch Premier League football. But why would you?

Choose local. Choose dedicated volunteers painting the stands. Choose a team sponsored by a local business. Choose a cup of tea for a quid. Choose live football. Choose a team with a dog called Elvis as their mascot. Choose supporting local charities. Choose terracing. Choose drinking a pint whilst watching the game with your neighbour. Choose the 50/50 draw. Choose old-school turnstiles operated by welcoming people. Choose 20p for a teamsheet.
Choose standing next to the striker’s Dad.

Choose promo code CANARY25 for 25% off Adults (£9) and Concessions (£6), and FREE entry for Under 20s. Click here to buy tickets.

Choose Non-League Day. Choose Hitchin Town FC!

See you on a week on Saturday.

EJA NEWS WITH NICK CARR
Eight boys from our EJA section represented the club in our 8 – 4 FA Youth Cup win over Peterborough Sports at Top Field on Wednesday night. Cameron Groom and Nathan Wing from the U17s started the match along with Jack Holmes, Harry Hunter, James Hannan and James Thompson from the U18s, whilst Gab Kwarteng and Dan Nunn came off the bench in the second half. Jack Holmes capped a fine performance with two goals.

All four of the EJA teams were in league action on Sunday with three of them coming away with all three points. Our U15s and U17s both maintained their 100% starts to the season, with the U15s winning 1 – 0 away at Bishops Stortford, Cathal Fee scoring the goal, and the U17s winning 8 – 0 at home against Braintree Town with Jack Hewitt and Ajay Lidder both helping themselves to hat-tricks and Tyler Lowden and Carlton Njambi scoring one each.

  • The U14s won 3 – 1 at home against Saffron Walden Community Youth with Stanley Howell, Rafael Miles and Anesti Kyrio the scorers.
  • The U18s were on the wrong end of a 6 – 3 score line at home to Ware FC Academy and finished the game with only nine players through injuries. James Hannan, Josh Adams and Harry Hunter were our scorers.
  • This Sunday sees three of our teams in action with the U15s and U17s in league action, as follows:
  • The U15s are away at Barton Rovers EJA, 11am kickoff at Barton Rovers FC
  • The U17s are away at Saffron Walden Community FC, 2pm kickoff at Saffron Walden FC
  • The U14s make the long trip to Woodbridge Town FC in the EJA U14 League Challenge Cup, kickoff 11am at Woodbridge Town FC.

HITCHIN TOWN LADIES WITH CALLUM ELLIS

Garston 1st v HTLFC Ist

A blistering start from Garston saw them take the lead in the 4th minute and they were 2 to the good just a minute later. A 3rd goal came before 10 minutes were on the clock but Hitchin rallied pulling a goal back before half-time as Bethany Spavins was set up to score her first goal. Lucy Huffer was on target with her first goal of the season scoring a 25 yard free-kick to bring it back to 3-2 7 minutes into the 2nd half but Garston came back to restore their 2 goal lead 5 minutes later going on to win the game 4-2.

There is now a week’s break for the first team.

HTLFC Reserves v Whetstone Wanders

This was the first home game of the season for the reserves and they were up against a new team within the league. A hat trick for Sprang & a goal from White-Benton both scoring their first goals under the HTLFC banner this season. HTLFC Reserves finished the game 4-2 winners.

They are away to Bedwell Rangers at Marriotts School on Sunday 6th October 2019, 14:00 kick off.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

STRATFORD TOWN

I was obviously very pleased to gain the first league win of the season against Stratford on Saturday together with a clean sheet. I had brought in three players who were experienced at this level and I think they all made a contribution to our victory. In contrast to previous games this season the team only included one teenager in the starting line-up. I am a big fan of playing youngsters and I have a formula as to how I introduce them at this level. I like to dip them in and out of the team, playing a few games then resting them. However this season has not worked out the way I would have liked and I have had to play more young players than is ideal and I have had to keep them in the side longer than I would normally have done.

The introduction of three experienced players lifted the spirits of the senior members of the squad and we deserved that first league win.

MAIDSTONE UNITED

I sent our scout Ian Stratford to watch Maidstone play St Albans on Saturday. Suffice to say he was very impressed with Maidstone who were comfortable 4-0 winners. I have watched videos of Maidstone and they like to press high and play with a lot of pace and power. They are in a good run of form in the Nationwide South and we are most definitely the underdogs. But this is the Emirates F A Cup and over the years there have been many upsets.

We travel under no pressure and will look to enjoy the occasion and hopefully pull off a surprise. I am certain we will have a large following at the impressive Maidstone stadium and the players who took part in last year’s run to the first round proper will be fired up to try and replicate that success and the great memories it created.

BY ROY IZZARD