Hitchin Town Football Club
"Football for the Future"
Hitchin Town 1 Bromsgrove Rovers 1
Saturday, January 23 2010
Are the Canaries hitting the mid-season jitters? That was the dominant theme after this disappointing performance against a team that is living from day-to-day. Hitchin have dropped four points in two games against struggling sides and their promotion chasing rivals have made up some ground – suddenly self-doubt has crept in at Top Field.
But if Hitchin’s “bad patch” is a series of draws, and they are still the team everyone has to beat, then life can’t be so bad for Colin Payne’s men. It could be that the enforced lay-off has upset Hitchin’s rythym – they will have no greater motivation than the forthcoming game with highly fancied Slough on January 30.
Hitchin could have got off to a perfect start against Bromsgrove, but Harry Hunt’s shot struck the woodwork and when Carl Williams stroked the ball into the net, it was ruled out.
Hitchin struggled to maintain their early promise and were never the same side after Tom Pepper left the field with a head injury. It was Bromsgrove that took the lead two minutes before the interval. Their impressive wide-man, Luke Findlay, was upended in the area by Luke Donnelly and Dexter Ravenhill netted from the penalty spot.
Ten minutes into the second half, Hitchin equalised when Tony Fontenelle’s low ball into the six yard box was flicked home by Jamie Arlick.
Bromsgrove never threatened again, but Hitchin had enough chances to secure the three points. A long range effort by Richard Howell was saved by Karl Lewis and Dean Gilbert headed wide from a corner.
The chance of the game, however, fell to Arlick, who – after being set up by Jeff Hammond saw his close range shot tipped over by Lewis.
“We should have won, we certainly created enough chances, but we were not at our best today,” said manager Colin Payne. “There’s a long way to go and we will these frustrating afternoons before the season is out.”
Hitchin Town (0)1 Bromsgrove Rovers (1)1
0-1 Ravenhill 42 mins pen
1-1 Arlick 55 mins
Hitchin: Bennett, Fontenelle, Pepper (Grinham 12), Williams, Smith, Gilbert, Lewis, L.Donnelly, Arlick, Hunt (Hammond 82), Howell (Burke 79)
Bromsgrove: Lewis, Street, Quaynor, Gill, Kenn, Winsper, Jones, Scheppel, Ravenhill (Connelly 90), Campbell (Woodhouse 12), Findlay
Attendance: 300
Referee: A.Jayes