WEEKLY BULLETIN – 7TH JAN
FIXTURES
Saturday 8th January Home to Redditch League kick-off 3.00pm. Tickets must be purchased through our website.
There is no midweek fixture.
Next Saturday 15th January we are now at home to St Ives. This game has been brought forward from Saturday 12th February.
The game at Needham Market on Saturday 22nd January will now have a 2.00pm kick-off.
We are in the process of rearranging the fixtures with Tamworth and Peterborough Sports that were recently cancelled and will give revised dates when the League make their decision.
MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE
PETERBOROUGH SPORTS
While I was disappointed the Peterborough Sports game was postponed due to Covid we would have been without Steve Gleeson against a top side. As it turned out other results over the holiday period were quite favourable but in the end it is our own results that really matter.
REDDITCH
This is a ‘’six pointer’’ as Redditch are one place and two points better off than us having played one more game. If we win we will move out of the bottom three so there is obviously a lot at stake. The teams were evenly matched when we lost 2-1 at Redditch in the first game of the season and I expect it to be similar at Top Field. Like us earlier, Redditch are in a spell when results do not match performances. On Monday run away leaders Banbury needed two very late goals to beat Redditch.
I think that we can build on our current form and I want to finish the rest of the season strongly. I am happy with the way the team is shaping up but I still have my eyes open for fresh faces. The team spirit is strong and we face a big month with St Ives to follow Redditch plus a quarter final in the Herts Senior Cup at St Albans. There is plenty to look forward to and I am so grateful that our supporters have continued to turn up in large numbers and got behind the team which the players really do appreciate.
Mark Burke
PLAYER NEWS
- Steve Gleeson serves the last game of his suspension and will miss the Redditch game.
LUTON UNDER 23’S AT TOP FIELD
On Tuesday 11th January we again host Luton Under 23’s and this time it is a local derby as Stevenage are the opponents. The game has a 1.00pm kick-off and tickets are now on sale through our website. It is £4 for adults, £2 for concessions and £1 for teenagers and children. Card payments will be accepted on the day.
COVID PROTOCLS AT HITCHIN
You may be interested to hear how Hitchin Town FC are meeting the demands of the Covid Omicrom variant. Before every training session and every game all players and management staff take a lateral flow test. This also applies to away games and all those who go on the coach including officials and supporters take tests.
The importance of this testing was shown on Monday when Kye Tearle tested positive. He had shown no symptoms and did not feel unwell but he had to isolate and this may well have prevented other players catching the virus from Kye.
HTFC RADIO
If you cannot get to Top Field on Saturday remember to tune in to HTFC Radio for full commentary. There will be a guest co-commentator in Steve Gleeson. Tune in live on htfc.radio12345.com
HTFC Radio
Hitchin Town FC commentary on all live games from your famous commentary team of Hitcin locals Freddie Cardy and Marac Alionic! Listen to the Canary Club Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts.
htfc.radio12345.com
TICKET/MERCHANDISE UPDATE
Tickets for the rearranged home game with St Ives on Saturday 15th January are now on sale.
Please do visit the club shop on matchdays to see the ever increasing range of merchandise. With the drop in temperature our new bobble hats and beanie hats are even more of a must buy item.
We are adding full length bench jackets to our clothing range. They will cost £55 and will need to be ordered. You can see a sample in the club shop on Saturday.
Remember that if you cannot get to the game please visit the online store.
REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL IN 2022 BY ROY IZZARD
There has been so much gloom and doom because of the continued effects of Covid and our poor start to the season that I thought I would put on my rose tinted glasses and look ahead to the new year with optimism.
Starting with the team there can be no doubt that recent performances have shown great improvement and the squad looks stronger. Much hard work remains to be done but if we can build on our recent improvement we can move up the table.
The ground is also a reason to be cheerful. The new Fishpond Road stand has transformed the ground and continues to draw admiring remarks from all those who have seen it for the first time. The removal of much of the dangerous wooden terracing has made the ground much safer while a lot of extra concreting has also improved the ground.
The new club shop and office is another great improvement and when you realise its predecessor was leaking and rotting away the transformation seems even greater.
The Canary Club has also been modernised and is now properly fit for purpose and an ideal venue for all social events.
Canary Kitchen has moved to its new position and provides a varied menu that other clubs cannot compete with and is another benefit for our supporters.
Thanks to our incredibly successful Crowdfunder campaign Top Field is now transformed as all the money raised was invested in our iconic home. We can look forward to 2022 in the knowledge that Top Field is now safer, more user friendly and no longer an embarrassment.
Our college programme is further cause for optimism and this year we have a record number of students. The path to the first team is now firmly established with the likes of Kane Smith and Will Wright now being followed by Kye Tearle and Stan Georgiou. Hopefully more first team players will come through the system and the early feedback from events we have held for the September intake have been very encouraging. Having Steve Gleeson on the coaching staff can only help attract more students.
Our incredible support is another cause for optimism. Despite our lack of success attendances have continued to rise. We are ninth in the Central Division attendance table with an average of 434 and we did not have the advantage of a home game in the holiday period. Undoubtedly we have seen an increase in the number of young supporters and female supporters attending games. This is a very encouraging trend.
The youth and ladies section of the club continue to go from strength to strength and it is vital we embrace all sections of the club and be a real community asset.
Our relationship with Luton Town FC continues to go from strength to strength and this can only help us in the future.
Finally it is very encouraging that our management committee is wholly made up of genuine supporters who all want to progress the club while we are lucky to have a great team of volunteers who put in so many hours of work for the club for no financial reward.
So I for one feel there are many reasons to be cheerful as we embark on another new year.
ARTWORK IN THE MAIN STAND BY KATE DELLER
Strathmore Infant and Nursery School Artwork
When you are walking around Top Field now you will notice two very beautiful pieces of artwork in the main stand which have been provided by all the very talented children of Strathmore Infant and Nursey School. This was an original idea thought of by our Sascha Gustard Brown to bring schools closer within our football community.
We are really pleased to have been able to collect these and put them in pride of place and to keep them protected from the elements. We love the sentiment “When we are together we have wings” Nothing could be truer of our community at large and our small football family.
There have been so many lovely comments made by our ground staff, volunteers and committee members, who have all said how lovely they are and how they brighten the stand up.
Massive thank you to Sascha Gustard-Brown and Parul Patel-Martin for organising these wonderful “Canary Angels”.
HTWFC UPDATE BY KARLA CHAFFEY
Welcome 2022 and football is back!! There is the one fixture this weekend.
Sunday 9th January 2022 – 14:00
EVERGREEN EAGLES V HITCHIN TOWN WOMENS FC CANARIES
Evergreen Football & Social Club,
South Way, Abbots Langley, WD5 0JL
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!
BY ROY IZZARD