Home Contact Directions Prices History Sponsors The News Fixtures Match Reports League Table Live Scores Form Guide Player Profiles EJA Section Hitchin Town Youth Ability Counts Fans Forum Supporters Club Supporters Trust Club Shop Gold Bond Yellow & Green Un Canary Club Football Links Local Links The Arena Physio Clinic Amazon Store

Former Canaries speak of great times at Hitchin

Monday, March 26 2007

Members of Hitchin Town's successful side from the late 1960s were among the former players that attended the latest Players' Reunion at Top Field last Friday (March 23).

Roy Cutler and Bernie Gogan, who formed a formidable front-line partnership during in the season that Hitchin finished runners up in the Isthmian League – scoring 45 of the team’s 67 league goals – spoke with affection about their time at Hitchin.

Cutler recalled the coach of that side, Vince Burgess. “Vince was a charming man and to some extent, he created a charming side. It was a special time in my career as a player,” he said.

Gogan joked that his partnership with Cutler involved him taking considerable punishment from defenders. “Invariably I would be laying in the mud, battered by a centre half after knocking the ball on…only to look up to see Roy tapping the ball into the net.” The infectious duo, known as the “terrible twins”, captivated the audience as they did as players.

John Brookes and John Ashworth, both of whom skippered Hitchin during the period, spoke of the privilege of playing for the club at that time. Brookes, who travelled from Wales for the event, said the 1968-69 season was a “wonderful experience” although he missed the London Senior Cup triumph through injury. Ashworth, one of the most celebrated players ever to wear a Hitchin shirt, spoke of his “enormous respect” for Vince Burgess. The former England Amateur international recounted one humerous memory of his brief stay at Hitchin. “Charlie Townsend, just after he joined us stopped in midfield, sat on the ball and berated the team for not running.”

Townsend was another of the 1970 team to attend. Also an England international, Townsend scored a spectacular goal early in the London Senior Cup final. Maurice Howkins, also in that line-up, remembered it well. “I said to Charlie, ‘nice goal’, to which he replied, ‘beginners luck!”.

Brian Williams, who assisted Burgess in 1970, later went on to manage Hitchin for five years, said the greatest moment of his time at the club was also the biggest disappointment. “Reaching the second round of the FA Cup in 1973-74 was a great achievement, but losing to Boston and missing out on a possible tie with Derby County was a bitter blow.”