Hitchin Town Football Club

Hitchin Town 1 Marlow 3

Saturday, January 3 2004

Marlow stunned Hitchin at Top Field, comfortably beating the Canaries’ young side in this Bryco Cup Third Round tie.

With their side depleted by a mass player exodus, Hitchin were always second best against their Division One South opponents.

Despite early pressure from Hitchin’s strike force of Mark Bridge and Leeyon Phelan, in which Bridge was blocked by Marlow goalkeeper Kieron Drake, Hitchin failed to create enough chances in open play.

But they took the lead in the 17th minute, a Mark Coulson free kick creeping under Drake’s body.

Marlow equalised in the 31st minute when Yashwa Romeo’s cross was turned home by Jeff Brown. The visitors took control in the 40th minute when Robert McLay, looking suspiciously offside, ran onto slide the ball into an empty net.

Coulson almost added his second goal when his shot from the edge of the penalty area was fumbled by Drake.

Lake should have made the game safe for Marlow after capitalising on a loose ball, but he shot into the side-netting after outpacing the Hitchin defence.

It was left to Romeo to provide the final touch, scoring in the 82nd minute with a low shot after a long goal-kick by Drake.

Hitchin: Wilmot, Childs, Hutton, Frater, Bone, Evans (Nicholl 70), Mills, Maynard, Phelan, Coulson (Duffy 85), Bridge (McElroy 88)

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