Hype Train FC will be playing across both Saturday and Sunday next season, with the team competing in the East Berkshire Football League and the Reading & District Sunday League. You can follow all of the team's season coverage right here as we provide match reports and photo galleries from our third season as a club! All aboard.
Match Report: Hype Train FC vs. Core FC
Date: Sunday 19th September 2021
Competition: Reading & District Sunday League (Division 4)
Opposition: Core FC
Location: Calcot Recreation Ground, Calcot, Reading, RG31 4XD
Final Score: Hype Train FC 6-1 Core FC
Photographer: Sam Austin (@HypeTrainSam)
Request Photos: contact@thehypetrain.co.uk
Match Report:
Our encounter against Core FC was the team's first-ever home game in the Reading & District Sunday League, and our second game on home soil during the the season after we entertained Caversham United last weekend in a thrilling 3-3 draw due to both teams having a bye week.
Our rapid starts to games on Sunday's continued as the deadlock was broken in the 9th minute in a move that started on the right flank with Colins Akemche driving forward with the ball. Akemche's push up the pitch teed up Dany Setiawan to square for Gino Izzo to play a first-time pass in to the feet of Leon Mannion, who held off the Core defender well to tee up Scott Terry to lash a first-time effort at goal from 20-yards out. The low drive from Terry got the better of the Core keeper as it phased between the opposing shot-stopper and in to the onion bag.
Doubling our lead in the 12th minute, the squad combined well again after winning back possession of the ball deep in our defensive half, with Chris Marshall supplying a composed pass to Mannion at the halfway line, with Akemche again making a darting run down the right when fed by Mannion. Akemche cut-back to Callum Fox-Spence, who skipped past his marker, before laying the ball across the box for the onrushing Jamie Carter to convert from the six-yard-line.
A loose ball in the 18th minute conceded possession to Core, with their left back receiving the ball and lashing a long ball forward for their Number 9 to chase, with the attacker doing well to get in between defenders, shrugging off a challenge by Robert Austin, before cutting back to Adam Skidmore to score from close range, bringing both teams in at the half-time break at 2-1 after a closing period of the half when Core worked themselves well back into the game.
The half-time break was a great opportunity for the squad to reset and we took advantage of this pause, with the team restoring a 2-goal lead in the 47th minute in a move started when we pressed high on the left, winning possession from Core's defensive players. A loos ball was collected by Austin, who then found Fox-Spence, who then played a nice one-two with Paul Hatfield on the left, with Fox-Spence providing a defence-splitting pass to Terry, who had time to turn on the pass by the Number 7, before finishing at the keeper's near-post.
Directly from Core's restart they were awarded a free-kick at the edge of our penalty area after Marshall was adjusted to have handled to the ball, with Jack Roche saving the eventual effort, before collecting the rebounding header that was looped up in the air. From the resulting counter, we were then awarded a penalty after Hatfield beat the right back and was pulled down inside the area after having his shirt pulled. On a hat-trick, Terry stepped up to bury the effort low to the keeper's right to complete his treble.
At 4-1 the game settled, though there was a few key chances where the team could have extended our lead. First game when Fox-Spence put the ball narrowly wide after some good interplay at the edge of the penalty area with Owen Jones and Terry, before Jones missed a golden chance from a header from six-yards-out after Austin whipped in a pin-point cross from the left.
The game was out of reach in the 65th minute for Core when the team added a 5th goal, with Jones not to be denied a second time. Build up on the left involved a nice triangle between Mannion, Hatfield and Austin, with Austin eventually feeding Hatfield in the area, with the winger beating his man again before cutting the ball back for Jones to convert from inside the six-yard-line. This was Jones's first competitive goal for the club, with the attacker scoring in back-to-back weeks after netting a header against Caversham last Sunday!
Searching for his goal all afternoon, Mannion would eventually find himself on the scoresheet on the 82nd minute when Hatfield completed a hat-trick of assists in the game when he played in the Number 9, who charged through on goal and calmly finished from just inside the penalty area, giving the Core goalkeeper no chance but to pick the ball out of his net for a 6th and final time.
The 6-1 win means that we continued our perfect start in RDSL Division 4, and sit in 2nd place in the table on 6 points, having scored more goals (18) and conceded the fewest (2) than any other team in the league at this very early stage of the season.
Thoughts from Club Secretary, Robert Austin:
"Since the start of pre-season we're unbeaten in Sunday competition and we extended that run this morning with a good team performance across the board. We had a big squad for the game and spread the minutes across the boys as we enjoyed a good morning on the pitch.
At time we were hard to play against when we had the ball at our feet and used our width well. It took a while to get our foot under the ball but when we did, Core couldn't get close to us with some good attacking movement allowing us to have the better of them in our attacking third.
Core for their credit were well in the game until the point we made it 4-1 as it was a close game that they clawed themselves back into. With some more games and time, they'll come on stronger as the season goes along and we wish them the best until we meet them in the John Lusted Cup in a couple of weeks' time.
We're not getting ahead of ourselves at all at this stage. It's nice to get a lot of goals on the board, and to have some morale-boosting wins, but we know that there will be some massive games this season that will define our season as we look to push the top places in the division come May."
Hype Train FC: Matchday Squad
Manager: Brian Mullally
Starting 11:
GK: Jack Roche
DEF: Chris Marshall
DEF: Stuart Stannard (Akemche 70')
DEF: Robert Austin (Carter 80')
MID: Colins Akemche (Basden 46')
MID: Callum Fox-Spence (Izzo 67')
MID: Scott Terry (Mannion 64')
MID: Gino Izzo (Snell 25', Fox Spence 75')
MID: Jamie Carter (Hatfield 38')
FOR: Dany Setiawan (Jones 25', Setiawan 72')
FOR: Leon Mannion (Zaky 46')
Substitutes:
SUB: Paul Hatfield
SUB: Matt Snell
SUB: Walid Zaky
SUB: Danny Basden
SUB: Owen Jones
Goals and Assists:
Goal 1: Terry goal, Mannion assist
Goal 2: Carter goal, Fox-Spence assist
Goal 3: Terry goal, Fox-Spence assist
Goal 4: Terry goal, Hatfield assist
Goal 5: Jones goal, Hatfield assist
Goal 6: Mannion goal, Hatfield assist
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in general football and Fantasy sports reporting, starting with Fantasy Premier League (FPL), before expanding to MLS Fantasy coverage in 2018.
We pride ourselves in providing beautiful graphics, statistics, in-depth analytical reporting and free weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb rankings tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review games, live sport, and professional wrestling.
In 2019, Hype Train Football Club was formed, becoming the first Fantasy Football website to take to the field. HTFC is a socially active team across social and web channels, providing regular match highlights, match reports, comprehensive player statistics and unique player profiles. We won both Goal of the Season Awards in the Berkshire and County FA regions, with Callum Parr-Jones winning the Berks & Bucks FA award, whilst Martin King won the PlaySport UK award. In 2021, we formed the Reading Sunday Social League (RSSL), a competitive Sunday League involving 8 teams in its debut season.
The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog' in 2016 by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), and were again shortlisted as a finalist in 2019 in the 'Best Fantasy Football Blog' category.
You can follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, follow Hype Train FC on Instagram, subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content, visit our club's dedicate website, or visit our website here at www.thehypetrain.co.uk
Believe The Hype!
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