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: RG6 FC vs. Hype Train FC
Date: Sunday 5th September 2021
Competition: Reading & District Sunday League (Division 4)
Opposition: New England FC
Location: Palmer Park, London Road, Reading, RG6 1LF
Final Score: RG6 FC 1-12 Hype Train FC
Photographer: Sam Austin (@HypeTrainSam)
Request Photos: contact@thehypetrain.co.uk
Match Report:
The team's debut in the Sunday League pyramid saw us make the short trip to take on another newcomer to the league, RG6 FC, at Palmer Park in Reading for a 10:30am kick-off.
It didn't take long for us to break the deadlock, which all started from a short goal kick by Jake Holloway to Robert Austin, with the left-back clipping a ball to Phil Newport to flick on to Leon Mannion. The number 9 ran through unopposed and buried his effort in the far-post for the club's first goal of the season.
A similar combination struck again only minutes later when good play on the left led to Newport feeding Mannion through on goal again, with the attacker this time finishing calmly with his right-foot to double the lead. Mannion completed his hat-trick via another Newport assist by the 20th minute of the game when this time our team's right side freed Newport to tee up Mannion again.
With a commanding lead established, Scott Terry came off the bench early on and was involved right off the bat, playing a nice one-two with Newport, with Newport this time through on goal, with the RG6 keeper unable to get anywhere close to Newport's inch-perfect finish in the bottom corner.
From supplier to goal scorer, Terry added his first goal of the season when Newport put Dany Setiawan through on goal, with Setiawan's initial effort creeping over the line and eventually made sure by Terry on the line.
With the team 5-0 up by the half-an-hour mark, we had a sloppy spell and gifted RG6 their first ever goal after we switched off when we thought the ball went out for a throw on their left-wing. The game played on with one of their midfielders hitting a looping shot over Holloway and into the net to put the game at 5-1 going into the break.
The second-half saw another name take his moment in the limelight, with Dany Setiawan managing his first goals for the club - and just like Mannion, managed a quick-fire hat-trick, with each goal assisted by Newport! The first came from when Newport was played through on goal, skipped past the keeper with the trailing ball falling in to the path of Setiawan to convert from close range. The second saw some acrobatics as Newport flicked on a good corner from Callum Fox-Spence, with Setiawan doing brilliantly to keep the ball in play, with the ball bouncing off Scott Terry before Setiawan lashed the ball in to the roof of the net. The treble came when Newport charged through on goal again, this time the RG6 keeper sweeping the ball away from Newport, though the clearance hit Setiawan in the head at the edge of the box with the ball finding a home in the back of the net.
Chris Marshall then got in among the goal contributions, when the central midfielder who was calm and composed all afternoon, feeding Mannion with a ball to feet, with Mannion turning and finding the net calmly to add a 4th goal of the day.
Arriving as a last-minute substitute in the game, Sam Bolwell's maiden appearance of the season saw the midfielder, playing just behind Mannion, get in among the goals too. Mannion raced to the by-line on the left and cut-back for Bolwell to stroke home in to an empty net!
Mannion completed his day with 5 goals after racing on to a clearance by Robert Austin that evaded the RG6 defensive line, with Mannion taking one touch before powering an effort from the left that squeezed in the bottom corner despite the RG6 keeper's best attempts.
Bolwell then completed the scoring with the substitute teed up for an easy cut-back finish by Mannion for a second time, with the midfielder who originally came to just watch the team, ending up with a brace of his own!
The win puts the team at the top of Division 4 with a +11 goal difference, ahead of Give Back FC Reserves, Brothers United, and Reading United, who were all victorious on opening weekend.
Thoughts from Club Secretary, Robert Austin:
"Pre-Season was incredibly short this year, with chunks of the squad away for the majority of our games and events at any given time, so it was so good to have a strong squad available for our first game in the Reading Sunday League. It's also our only football until October due to on-going issues with the East Berkshire Football League on Saturday's, so it was imperative that we put a marker down in the league.
Our performance was very strong to start, though once we scored the 5th goal we let our standards drop and took the pressure off, allowing RG6 to score from range after a period of sloppy play from the boys. The second-half saw us kill off any hope of a contest to establish an early lead at the top of the table. We had periods of playing very well, especially with the ball to feet, and exploited our pace up top against a young outfit that couldn't handle the pace of some experienced attackers at this level.
What a start to the season though! 12 goals, debuts to lots of players, in a local game on a great morning for football. It's only day one but we are largely satisfied with our application over the course of the game.
All credit to our opponents RG6, they were a top bunch of guys and very new to the football circuit. They'll come on strong in future games and we look forward to hosting them down the line in the season!"
Hype Train FC: Matchday Squad
Manager: Brian Mullally
Starting 11:
GK: Jake Holloway
DEF: George Fradgley (Carter 63')
DEF: Callum Gibbons (Bolwell 68')
DEF: Vincent van Lembergen (C)
DEF: Robert Austin (Fradgley 78')
MID: Callum Fox-Spence
MID: Chris Marshall
MID: Gino Izzo (Setiawan 26', Austin 86')
MID: Jamie Carter (Mannion 46', Gibbons 78')
FOR: Phil Newport (Izzo 57')
FOR: Leon Mannion (Terry 26')
Substitutes:
SUB: Scott Terry
SUB: Dany Setiawan
SUB: Sam Bolwell
SUB: Danny Basden
Goals and Assists:
Goal 1: Mannion goal, Newport assist
Goal 2: Mannion goal, Newport assist
Goal 3: Mannion goal, Newport assist
Goal 4: Newport goal, Terry assist
Goal 5: Terry goal, Setiawan assist
Goal 6: Setiawan goal, Newport assist
Goal 7: Setiawan goal, Terry assist
Goal 8: Setiawan goal, Newport assist
Goal 9: Mannion goal, Marshall assist
Goal 10: Bolwell goal, Mannion assist
Goal 11: Mannion goal, Austin assist
Goal 12: Bolwell 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!
