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 pre-season coverage right here as we provide match reports and photo galleries from the start of our third season as a club! All aboard.
Match Report: Rose & Thistle FC vs. Hype Train FC
Date: Sunday 15th August 2021
Competition: Pre-Season Friendly
Opposition: Rose & Thistle FC
Location: The Atrium Health Club, Scours Lane, Reading RG30 6AY
Final Score: Rose & Thistle FC 0-4 Hype Train FC
Photographer: Sam Austin (@HypeTrainSam)
Request Photos: contact@thehypetrain.co.uk
Match Report:
Our second Sunday pre-season game saw the team take on another RSSL side, taking on Reading & District Sunday League Division One side, Rose & Thistle FC at The Atrium Health Club in Reading.
This was our second outing against Rose, with the home side in green starting the brighter of the two, forcing Jake Holloway into two early saves, his only of the match, whilst they also blazed a header over the bar following on from a dead ball on the left-flank.
We took some time to find our rhythm in the game and spurned a huge opportunity to take the lead when a Callum Fox-Spence corner kick was whipped into the box, with three bites at the cherry not enough to see the ball cross the line, with Chris Marshall, Scott Terry and Owen Jones all meeting the Rose defensive wall.
The deadlock in a spirited first-half for both sides was finally broken in the 42nd minute when a loose Rose goal kick was intercepted by George Holloway, with Callum Parr-Jones collecting the ball and providing an inch-perfect through ball for Mannion to chase, with the Number 9 taking one touch to compose himself before burying the ball into the back of the net with his second.
The opening goal paved the way for the game to become more stretched in the second-half and it only took until the 50th minute for Mannion to add his second when he collected a headed pass from Jones, before breezing past two defenders and lashing a shot into the far-left of the post to double his tally for the morning.
The second-half settled and it took until the 87th minute for the killer third goal to arrive and did so in the form of Scott Terry, who could have had a hat-trick given his chances on the day, who was set-up by Callum Fox-Spence's low pass to the edge of the box. Terry took one touch to set himself before slamming the ball into the middle of the goal.
The team wasn't done for the day as we secured our rout in the 89th minute when Mannion ran with the ball to the byline and cut the ball back across the line, with Owen Jones on hand to seal off a good attacking move down the right by nudging the ball over the line for his goal for the club - capping a good morning for the team!
Thoughts from Club Secretary, Robert Austin:
"Our connections after starting the Reading Sunday Social League (RSSL) last summer have continued to build as we played fellow RSSL side, Rose & Thistle FC in our second pre-season game on Sunday - and this time we were able to get the better of the Rose at the Ibis after our 1-1 draw in the league.
It was a good morning for the club as we were deserving 4-0 winners, though Rose played very well in the opening half an hour and could have had a couple of goals of their own to add to the tally. Once we weathered the early moments of the game, we grew into the game and the game opened up for the team.
We played with the ball well whilst having tested out another three-man defensive line and did well to carve open chance after chance - a few lads on the team know that they could have had a couple more goals to add to the tally too. We still have a lot to iron out though before the start of our season in Division 4, but there are positive signs that we'll get there and potentially compete in an unpredictable league.
I've got a lot of time for Craig Farrell and the team at Rose and hope that they have a good season in the Reading & District Sunday League next season!"
Hype Train FC: Matchday Squad
Manager: Brian Mullally
Starting 11:
GK: Jake Holloway
DEF: Aman Sanghera
DEF: George Holloway
DEF: Robert Austin (C)
MID: Scott Terry (van Lembergen 25')
MID: Matt Snell (Fox-Spence 75')
MID: Chris Marshall
MID: Callum Fox-Spence (Parr-Jones 57')
MID: Owen Jones (Terry 35')
FOR: Callum Parr-Jones (Jones 46')
FOR: Leon Mannion (Snell 89')
Substitutes:
SUB: Vincent van Lembergen
Goals and Assists:
Goal 1: Mannion goal, Parr-Jones assist
Goal 2: Mannion goal, Jones assist
Goal 3: Terry goal, Fox-Spence assist
Goal 4: Jones goal, Mannion 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!
