Hype Train FC will be playing across both Saturday and Sunday next season, with the team primarily competing in 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 fourth season as a club! All aboard.
Match Report: Hype Train FC
Date: Sunday 4th December 2022
Competition: RDSL Industrial Cup (10:30am KO)
Opposition: Burghfield FC 'A'
Location: Calcot Recreation Ground, Off Highview, Calcot, Reading, RG31 4XD
Final Score: Hype Train FC 2-2 (2-3 Pens) Burghfield FC 'A'
Photographer: Sam Austin (@HypeTrainSam)
Request Photos: contact@thehypetrain.co.uk
Match Report:
The train's encounter against Burghfield FC was the team's 11th competitive outing of the 2022/23 season, with the team on home soil at Calcot Recreation Ground in the Last 8 of the Reading & District Sunday League's Industrial Cup. This was the club's third encounter against a Burghfield outing this season, having playing them twice in league action in RDSL Division 3.
The game opened up with a goal within the first 5 minutes of the contest, with the team conceding early doors via a Burghfield set-piece. A free-kick at the halfway line was cleared away from danger by Callum Gibbons, but only to a Burghfield player who played in central defender, William May, to convert from 10-yards-out - the kicker being that upon review of the VEO footage, the defender was offside and play went on.
With an early goal conceded with Burghfield's only shot of the first-half, the team went on the offensive, but were unable to put the ball in the net ourselves, though it wasn't for a lack of trying or attempts. Burghfield's Goalkeeper was in inspired form, making two top-draw saves to deny Leon Mannion a goal, whilst Tom Williams clipped the bar, and Joe Sawyer headed wide from a corner, as the train trailed at half-time.
The second-half was dominated by the team in orange, with Mannion and Cosmin Huhulea again coming close before the 50th minute, whilst a minute later in the 51st, Mannion was through on goal but the Burghfield keeper came out to make a terrific block to deny Mannion a sure fire goal. The resulting corner was whipped in by Huhulea and headed home by the diving head of Phil Newport, whose header was unable to be cleared off the line as the ball crashed in against the tight net and back out of goal for the team's equaliser.
The team were in the ascendancy and in the 57th minute the team had a very dubious call that denied us the lead. From a long throw by Liam Bowbrick, Mannion won the initial header that was flicked towards goal. Owen Bowbrick was then first to the ball as there was a clash of bodies with the Burghfield goalkeeper - the ball would go out to Newport to tap-in to an empty net to give the team the lead, with the referee initially giving the goal. The Burghfield goalkeeper stayed down with his team alleging that the player had been kicked in the head (which he hadn't been), with the referee being accosted by the referee to give a foul, which the official ultimately gave, to keep the game at 1-1. The goalkeeper, who sold the incident didn't leave the field of play despite a lengthy stoppage in play, so the decision to deny the goal was very sceptical.
More pressure from the team was being applied in the 61st minute when Mannion ran at the Burghfield defensive line, winning a free-kick just outside of the penalty area. With the goal at his mercy a minute later, Tom Williams picked out the goalkeeper's bottom-left corner to convert the set-piece, to give the team the lead.
With the team maintaining our pressure, a moment that took that air out of the team arrived in the 89th minute when Burghfield picked out their right winger with a through pass, that somehow phased through Nikhil Garg, with the winger winning the footrace and finding the back of the net whilst one-on-one, to score their 2nd goal of the morning with only their second shot on target - which ultimately led the game to penalty kicks for the team the second time this season.
As for the penalties, Mannion and Williams found their spot kicks well saved by Burghfield's goalkeeper, with Burghfield missing their first and converting their second spot-kick. Josh Watkins and Owen Bowbrick then found the back of the net, with Burghfield missing penalties 3 & 4 (with Halsall saving penalty 4) - which meant that all Phil Newport had to do was score to send the team through. Dramatically, Newport's penalty hit the crossbar, with Burghfield converting their 5th penalty. Huhulea then skied the team's 6th, with Burghfield making no mistake with their 6th to send the team crashing out on penalties in dramatic fashion.
The result means that the team have bowed out at the quarter-final stage of the Industrial Cup, in the most cruel way possible. Next up for the team on Sunday's we are away from home against Southbank FC in the Berks & Bucks FA Sunday Trophy on Sunday 11th December 2022.
Thoughts from Club Secretary, Robert Austin:
"There are different ways to lose a football game, and on Sunday the team really suffered the worst way possible. We had the game in our grasp at 2-1, largely dominated the game, had basically all the chances, limited our opposition to virtually nothing, even had a goal ruled out, and somehow the game run away from us. Even in penalties, we had the chance to score the winning penalty, and even then that wasn't enough.
It was a day to rue missed opportunities in front of goal and perhaps this is karma in the cup for not being clinical enough - we were in exactly the same position against Southbank in the competition, a game similar today when our shooting boots were left at home - so it's only right that sometimes the dice go against you in football and today was just that.
On my side of the pitch, I was largely speechless as we had mostly done the right things throughout the game, sometimes you have frustrating situations where opposing teams lay in a low defensive block and you can't find a way through, it happens. Looking at our opponents, they really defended with everything they had and had an inspired goalkeeper that denied the team had a dozen goals and will largely be happy with their display - but making no mistake, moments from ourselves that lacked concentration are the reason they've advanced.
I wish Burghfield nothing but the best, it was a good, tense cup game, and will be rooting for you in the next round. For us, it's time to reset and correct a frustrating day at the office next week in the County Cup!"
Hype Train FC: Matchday Squad
Manager: Robert Austin
Starting 11:
GK: Jamie Halsall
DEF: Joe Sawyer
DEF: Callum Gibbons
DEF: Josh Watkins
DEF: Nikhil Garg (O. Bowbrick 80')
MID: Owen Bowbrick (Mugabe 54')
MID: Cosmin Huhulea
MID: Tom Williams
MID: Liam Bowbrick (Matthews 70')
MID: Phil Newport
FOR: Leon Mannion
Substitutes:
SUB: Bradley Matthews
SUB: Alvin Mugabe
SUB: Walid Zaky
SUB: Robert Austin
Goals & Assists:
Goal 1: Newport (goal), Huhulea (assist)
Goal 2: Williams (goal), Mannion (assist)
Penalty Kicks:
Penalty 1: Leon Mannion (missed/saved)
Penalty 2: Burghfield (missed)
Penalty 3: Tom Williams (missed/saved)
Penalty 4: Burghfield (scored)
Penalty 5: Josh Watkins (scored)
Penalty 6: Burghfield (missed)
Penalty 7: Owen Bowbrick (scored)
Penalty 8: Burghfield (missed/saved)
Penalty 9: Phil Newport (missed)
Penalty 10: Burghfield (scored)
Penalty 11: Cosmin Huhulea (missed)
Penalty 12: Burghfield (scored)
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
Believe The Hype!
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