WEEKLY BULLETIN – 6TH AUG

FIXTURES
There are now two new fixtures in place. On Saturday 7th August we are now hosting Arsenal Under 18’s at Top Field with an 11.00am kick-off. Unfortunately this means we have had to cancel our open day but when Arsenal contacted Mark yesterday asking us for a fixture as they had been let down he really could not say no – you do not say no to a Premier League team! Tickets are on sale through our website and all the proceeds will be put towards further ground improvements.

Then on Wednesday 11th August we will be playing Boreham Wood at Top Field with a 7.45pm kick-off. National league high flyers Boreham Wood will be bringing their first team squad so it should be an attractive fixture. Tickets are again on sale through our website.

Season ticket holders should be aware that their season tickets are valid for both of these games.

COMMEMORATIVE SHIRT COLLECTION ON SATURDAY
While the open day is no longer taking place on Saturday you can still pick up your commemorative away shirt from the ground entrance from Stewart – you do not have to come in to watch the game. Please bring ID so that we can ensure all shirts are dispatched correctly.

MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE

BARTON ROVERS
I have been happy with our pre-season so far but we suffered a set back at Barton. On Saturday. I was very disappointed with the first half performance where we looked complacent and conceded two goals. There was a big improvement in the second half as we played with more intensity. However we did not create many chances and lost the game 2-0.

BEDFORD TOWN
I came to this game looking for a reaction to the Barton performance. I felt that in the first 25 minutes I got that reaction as we played some excellent passing football and dominated the play. Unfortunately we did not convert this dominance in to goals and Bedford grew in to the game.

The second half saw Bedford change their shape and formation which saw them take the lead. They then had a period of dominance before we finished the game strongly and deservedly equalized. It was a very good work out and it felt more like a competitive league game than a friendly.

ARSENAL UNDER 18S
We were all prepared for the open day when I received an SOS phone call from Arsenal yesterday who desperately wanted a fixture for their Under 18’s after Crewe pulled out due to Covid issues. While I was disappointed to lose the open day it was a great opportunity to play a club like Arsenal. I hope that despite the very short notice a lot of our supporters turn up to see the Arsenal stars of the future and also to use the Fishponds Road terracing for the first time.

BOREHAM WOOD
I am looking forward to entertaining Boreham Wood on Wednesday in another fixture arranged at short notice. Boreham Wood wanted a fixture and it fitted in with the fact that I wanted one more friendly. It will be a tough test ahead of the first league game.

NEW FISHPONDS ROAD TERRACING
We are pleased to say that the new Fishponds Road terracing will be open for the Arsenal game on Saturday. We are very proud of the new look terracing and it is only because you the Hitchin supporters were so generous with your Crowdfunder donations that the project has been successfully completed.

It is fitting Arsenal should be our first opponents with the new terracing as they were the team that officially opened our original floodlights and the replacement floodlights just a few seasons ago. The wonderful photo to accompany this bulletin was taken by Eddy with his drone, which looks fantastic.

GROUND UPDATE BY PAUL SPRAGUE
It has meant so much to every one of the volunteers to hear the great feedback and to see everyone enjoying the improvements that we have been making to Top Field. We are glad you all agree that the critical works supported by our Crowdfunder have not only ensured we meet the minimum requirements but have also enhanced the Matchday experience at Top Field.

Those of you attending our pre season games will have seen that there are still a few outstanding areas to complete but there is definitely now light at the end of the tunnel and the volunteers who have worked so tirelessly can begin to focus on their standard ground upkeep duties and enjoying the football in the months ahead. The most significant change is a transformation of the Fishponds Road end. This is now complete and you will be able to explore this at Saturday’s game with Arsenal and ‘find your spot’ for the upcoming season.

The final areas to be completed in the coming weeks include:

  • Installation of a new club shop and office. We can’t wait to get our great range of new merchandise on sale in the ground.
  • Completion of the Aviary children’s area.
  • Final areas of concreting adjacent to the Canary Kitchen and adjacent to the new Fishponds Road Stand.

Once again thank you for your tremendous support during last year’s Crowdfunder that made these works possible. Also once again many thanks to the volunteers for their incredible efforts over the past year.

HITCHIN TOWN FC WOMENS BY KARLA CHAFFEY
The women are continuing to preseason train and the sessions are becoming increasingly harder. There are a handful of new faces joining the set up and I am pleased that most players from previous seasons have continued to sign with Hitchin Town Women’s Football Club. Only the one player has left the club to play for a different team and a couple have left for work and family reasons. We wish them all luck for the future.

The XI and Canaries got together this weekend just gone for a training game and which saw a couple of new players looking to sign and two older faces returning!

We are currently waiting for confirmation of the divisions that both of our teams will be competing in and fixtures for the season. This should be released towards the end of August and fixtures will be published on social media.

Sunday 8th August 2021 fixtures, 14:00 Kick off:
Chipperfield Corinthians v HTWFC XI, playing at Queen Street, Chipperfield, WD4 9BT
Langford Ladies FC v HTWFC Canaries, playing at Langford Fc, Forde Park, Langford Road, Henlow, SG16 6AG

We were extremely lucky towards the end of the 2020/2021 season, that HTFC Radio stars Freddie & Marac attended to provide us live match day coverage. On speaking to Freddie he has this to say:

“As someone who has been trying to watch more and more women’s football over the last few years, the chance to commentate on Hitchin Town Women couldn’t have come at a better time, especially after a lengthy lockdown at the start of 2021. The curtain raiser from my perspective was a First-Team v Reserves game at Top Field, although don’t be fooled by the names, the so-called Reserves ran out 4-3 winners with certainly some of the best goals I’ve ever commentated on, and just about everything you want to see from this sort of game.

The downside was that no spectators were able to attend, but as the matches then shifted to Ransoms Rec it was great to see people of all ages and backgrounds walking past and taking in a bit of women’s football. From a radio perspective we were instantly made welcome by players, coaches and officials and I know that both me and my co-commentator Marac Alionic were pleasantly surprised by the standard of football on show. Going forward, it will be great to see the women’s team sport the new-style HTFC kits, and hopefully some more games at Top Field to inspire the next generation of female footballers here in Hitchin!”

BY ROY IZZARD