Hitchin Town Football Club
Founded 1865, Reformed 1928
Canaries to come up against old boys in Cup
Thursday, October 6 2005
Two former Top Field favourites come face-to-face with their old club when Hitchin travel to Cambridge City on Saturday.
Cambridge, who are riding high in the Conference South, are managed by Gary Roberts, who had two spells with the Canaries in the 1980s and 1990s. Roberts, an ebullient figure who managed the last ever Baldock Town side as well as St.Albans before Cambridge, took his team to the brink of the Nationwide Conference last season before they lost a play-off. In Roberts’ side is Carl Williams, who also had two spells with Hitchin, playing over 200 games for the club.
Cambridge started the season well with three straight wins, but have been inconsistent since then, losing three of their last six games. They drew with Bishop’s Stortford last Saturday at Milton Road. But they have not been at full strength recently with the tenacious Dale Binns – a thorn in Hitchin’s side in the past – missing from action. In the previous round, Cambridge beat Eastwood Town after a replay.
Hitchin, who have not won for seven league games, despite successfully overcoming Waltham Forest and Deal Town in the FA Cup, go into the game as underdogs, but manager Darren Salton insists that “anything can happen in the FA Cup”. Both James Ayres and Jonathan Mills will be missing owing to suspension, and new signing Stuart Hammonds is cup-tied, so Salton will have to reshuffle his side. He also awaits on the fitness of Aaron Cavill who was injured last month against Merthyr Tydfil.
If the game is drawn, the Canaries will host Cambridge City on Tuesday, kick off 7.45pm. Otherwise, they travel to Northwood in a league game.