Hitchin Town Football Club
Founded 1865, Reformed 1928
First visit to Birmingham for Canaries
Friday, January 14 2005
Hitchin travel to bottom-placed Solihull Borough on Saturday, hoping to complete their first double of the season. The Canaries beat the Midlands side 3-1 at Top Field earlier this season.
Team News: Mark Smith is definitely ruled out, so Lee McCulloch looks set to continue in the back four.
Mark Bridge has got over his recent injury and is fit for selection after being rested last week. Shane Hill will also be in the squad. But 16 year-old Ieuan Lewis, on-loan from Stevenage, has been recalled for Borough's FA Trophy tie. Rory Hutton and James Kidd are still out through injury.
Current form: Solihull lost 1-4 at Cirencester last week after surprisingly beating Halesowen 3-1 in their previous game.
The Canaries won at home last week for the first time in two months.
Last six games:
Solihull L, W, L, L, L, D
Hitchin Town W, L, W, L, D, W
Solihull have won just four of their 13 home games, while Hitchin's away form compares well with the front runners in the league.
Previous meetings: Hitchin 3 Solihull 1
Men to watch: Mark Shepherd and Rob Taylor are Solihull's leading scorers with 11 goals between them. Matt Hawker in midfield can also find the back of the net. Carl Adams, who appeared for Stevenage Borough in the 1990s, has recently joined the club.
Comment: "Our performance against Team Bath was 200% better than the Grantham game," said Assistant Manager Ken Gillard. "We were tighter at the back, had a lot of energy in midfield and it was good to have Sozzo back and scoring."
