Ten man Barwell were beaten on the opening day of the new season by Hitchin Town. The visitors scored twice in the second half to overturn a half time deficit. Brady Hickey scored a penalty for the home side to put them ahead just before half an hour but there was drama just before half time when Kyle Rowley was sent off. The Hitchin goals came from Jake Morrell and Finley Wilkinson.

The game opened in bright sunshine and the first exchanges were even. Hitchin had a Rio DaSilva shot over the bar and Beck-Ray Enoru made a good break for Barwell to set up Chris Camwell for a shot, but he was in an offside position. Andy Wycherley, returning to Barwell, was called in to goalkeeping action to punch away a free kick just after quarter of an hour.

Barwell then began to gain control of the game and started to move the ball around with patience. Hitchin were limited to the occasional break. During this spell, Melis Bushaj played a lovely ball forward from the left hand side and Hickey ran on to it. The ball bounced up and Hickey headed it but Charlie Horlock in the Hitchin goal was quickly out from his line and got an important touch to send it wide.

After 25 minutes, Micheal Harding burst through the Hitchin defence and was one on one with Horlock. He went to put the ball around the 'keeper but Horlock brought him down and the referee awarded a penalty. Horlock received a yellow card for the foul and Steve Gleeson was also booked for Hitchin for dissent. After it calmed down, Hickey stepped up and scored the penalty in his usual way.

On 42 minutes there was a great chance for Barwell to double their lead when Michael Harding took a shot but it was straight at Horlock. Enoru had, again, done well in the build up and got a cross in from the right hand side. The ball fell to Max Brogan and he had a shot that rebounded back to Harding.

As the game came to half time, there was controversy as a couple of controversial tackles went in. The ball had been with the goalkeeper and it might have been better if the referee had paused the game for a player down injured but play continued. There was a foul on a Hitchin player and this caused there to be some cross words between some of the players. In the melee Barwell's defender, Kyle Rowley, appeared to aim his head at Gleeson. After discussing this with his assistant, the referee produced a red card for Rowley. This prompted the Barwell manager to make a quick substitution with Deen Master replacing Camwell.

Half Time: Barwell 1 Hitchin Town 0

Just two minutes into the half and Hitchin drew level. Jack Morrell took a swipe at the ball from some 30 yards out and it sailed in the goal over the stretch of Wycherley. It was a very fine strike and was met with a great reaction by the travelling Hitchin fans.

There was a moment of panic when Bushaj made a back pass to Wycherley and he had to react quickly to prevent an embarrassing own goal. Despite this scare and being a man down, Barwell continued to play well and Hickey had a shot saved by Horlock.

As the second half progressed, Hitchin started to become more dominant and a clever corner routine led to a shot being blocked by the Barwell defence. There was then a throw in that also caused problems in the Barwell defence before being cleared.

As the game came towards the end, Hitchin substitute Ackom Delsin won a corner from a deflected cross. Gleeson took the corner and it caused problems in the area as Barwell tried to clear it. The ball popped up for another substitute, Finley Wilkinson, to head it home and snatch the win for his Hertfordshire side.

Full time: Barwell 1 Hitchin Town 2