Welcome aboard the home of Hype Train Football Club. Here, you can read the match reports from the train's outing across Saturday & Sunday League action throughout the 2023/24 season, with the team competing in the East Berkshire Football League (EBFL) and the Reading & District Sunday League (RDSL). All aboard.
Match Report: Hype Train FC
Date: Sunday 1st October 2023
Competition: RDSL Industrial Cup (Round 1)
Opposition: AFC Reading
Location: Berks County Sports Club, Sonning Lane, Reading, RG4 6ST
Final Score: AFC Reading 0-13 Hype Train FC
Request Photos: contact@thehypetrain.co.uk
Match Report:
The train's encounter against AFC Reading was our 12th competitive match of the 2023/24 season, with the team in cup action for the second day this weekend against new opposition, travelling to Berks County Sports Club in Reading for the first round of the RDSL Industrial Cup.
A game of many goals and chances came to life in the 11th minute when Mitchell Saunders would pick up the ball in midfield and drive through the Reading team, waiting for the right moment to feed Ciaran Carolan through on goal - the eventual through ball evaded the watchful eyes of trailing Reading defenders, before Carolan rounded the keeper, before setting and calmly finishing into an unguarded net, to open the scoring.
A second goal was looking likely for the train as we were building control in the game, and again we cut through the middle of Reading's midfield. This time, Jordi Ebanda drove deep into enemy territory, passed to Carolan, who scooped the ball over the last defender as Ebanda continued his run, before executing an excellent left-footed into into the far-left corner of the goal to double our lead.
The goals kept on coming, with the team running away with the game in the 36th minute in some fashion. Starting with a Joe Sawyer throw on the right side to Usamah Choudhry, who used fine footwork to combine a one-two with Jon Watkins, with Watkins on the return pass firing in an unstoppable first-time effort on his left into the top right corner of the goal, leaving the Reading keeper completely stranded - a goal of the season contender to elate the visiting train, and deflate the hosts.
A good first-half ended with a 4th goal, starting with Callum Parr-Jones, who did the team a job with a performance in goal, throwing the ball to Padraig Gorman, who proceeded to run through the entire Reading team, before calmly finishing - relief for the Irishman, who had missed several key chances in the first-half that would have further extended the team's lead.
The second-half was unrelenting for the team as we put the sword to Reading with a professional performance, adding a 5th goal during the 49th minute when Gorman found space on the left, and fed the ball through to Ebanda with a well-timed pass, to dispatch a cool finish from range.
Minute 54 on the clock completed the half dozen of goals for the team, with Saunders again showing good running power as he took the ball into the penalty area before combining with Carolan, who teed up Saunders 8-yards-out, only to hit the bar with his shot - though for Carolan, he was on cue to finish home the rebound off the bar to spare Saunders' blushes.
With 6 goals in the bag, the 7th only had to wait until the 56th minute, this time Gorman proving to be a menace for the Reading defence as he danced into the penalty area, cutting the ball back to Leo Pereira to strike a low drive in off the left post and in - Pereira's first goal for the club!
The 62nd minute saw the team set in a low block to defend, with the team picking up the ball following a blocked cross, with the ball fed to Carolan, who on the first-time pass, freed Gorman who beat the offside trap on the halfway line, to run past the Reading goalkeeper and chasing defender, before tapping home to make the score 8-0.
Another opportunity presented itself for the team during the 66th minute of the game, this time when Carolan was dragged down for a foul just outside the penalty area, ideal free-kick territory for the team. Carolan took reigns over the dead ball and delivered a top draw set-piece into the top right corner for the 9th goal.
On the stroke of the 70th minute, we witnessed a reversal of the 8th goal, which began with some good passing across the team across from right to left, with Gorman threading an inch perfect through ball to Carolan, who like Gorman beat the offside trap, and when faced one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper, Carolan kept his cool to calmly slot home for the double-digit mark.
The game wouldn't ended quickly enough for the hosts and during the 72nd minute when faced with a long ball, the ball hit the back of Reading head when staying close to Gorman, which led to our winger picking up the ball, moving inside the penalty area on the left, before cutting the ball back to Eme Boateng, who set with his first touch before looping a shot over the goalkeeper and into the far left of the goal with his second - with the team now just a single goal away from our record win!
As the minutes ticked on, the next breakthrough came in the 85th minute when Ebanda combined with Boateng down the right wing, which allowed Boateng to pass the ball across the edge of the box to Gorman, who twisted his body onto his right before finishing calmly - securing his own hat-trick and the second of the day!
With the final action of the day, Saunders was desperate for a goal of his own after a lot of hard work throughout the game, ran to the byline inside the penalty area on the right side of the post, but before getting his cross in, was dragged down and a penalty awarded. With half the team wanting to take the penalty, we had to tempt Ebanda into the crucial kick to complete his own treble. After much encouragement, Ebanda stepped up and buried the penalty low to the keepers' left, securing a 3rd hat-trick of the day, a record win, and our first clean sheet of the season, on top of qualifying for the second round of the RDSL Industrial Cup.
Next up for the train, the team has a couple of competitive fixtures on the horizon, first making the trip out to Frontline FC in EBFL's Premier Division on Saturday 7th October 2023, before we host Brothers United in the Berks & Bucks FA Sunday Trophy on Sunday 8th October at Calcot Recreation Ground.
Thoughts from Club Secretary, Robert Austin:
"Without doubt, I am so happy with our response to a couple of recent losses on Sunday's, and we did so in clinical fashion. A record win, a trio of hat-tricks, a first clean sheets in 10 months across the club, and lots of happy faces.
The team were absolutely clinical and on fire for the entirety of the game. We had a point to prove and were in a high gear after the 10th minute with our first goal, and we never really looked back. Our combinations and passing were good, our level of finishing was assured and great to see, and some of our defending was great - I am not sure CPJ in goal touched the ball more than once with his hands in the second-half. Overall, it has been a confidence building weekend in cup competition, and it has got the group closer together as we look to push on now that the season is well under way.
I am going to put a lot of credit to the hosts, AFC Reading, who played the game in a top spirit, are a good bunch of guys, and even when being heavily beat, played the game fairly. Other clubs would have flagged us off, and have done recently, when we've been clear through on goal, so it was refreshing to play a team that played the game honestly. They're a credit to the RDSL and they'll bounce back, I'm sure of it."
Hype Train FC: Matchday Squad
Manager: Robert Austin
Starting 11:
GK: Callum Parr-Jones
DEF: Joe Sawyer
DEF: Callum Gibbons
DEF: Kie Longmate
DEF: Leo Pereira
MID: Jon Watkins (Boateng 46')
MID: Mitchell Saunders (Choudhry 78')
MID:Â Usamah Choudhry (Zaky 62')
MID: Jordi Ebanda
MID: Padraig Gorman (Saunders 84')
FOR: Ciaran Carolan (Dalgarno 72')
Substitutes:
SUB: Tom Dalgarno
SUB: Walid Zaky
SUB: Emmanuel Boateng
SUB: Robert Austin
Goals & Assists:
Goal 1: Carolan (goal), Saunders (assist)
Goal 2: Ebanda (goal), Carolan (assist)
Goal 3: Watkins (goal), Choudhry (assist)
Goal 4: Gorman (goal), Parr-Jones (assist)
Goal 5: Ebanda (goal), Gorman (assist)
Goal 6: Carolan (goal), Saunders (assist)
Goal 7: Pereira (goal), Gorman (assist)
Goal 8: Gorman (goal), Carolan (assist)
Goal 9: Carolan (goal), no assist
Goal 10: Carolan (goal), Gorman (assist)
Goal 11: Boateng (goal), Carolan (assist)
Goal 12: Gorman (goal), Boateng (assist)
Goal 13: Ebanda (goal), Saunders (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. During the 2021/22 season, we won our first-ever trophy, lifting the East Berkshire Football League's Presidents Cup!
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
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