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 30th October 2022
Competition: RDSL Division 3 (10:30am KO)
Opposition: Caversham AFC
Location: Clayfield Copse, Caversham Park Road, Caversham, Reading, RG4 6AA
Final Score: Caversham AFC 2-4 Hype Train FC
Photographer: Sam Austin (@HypeTrainSam)
Request Photos: contact@thehypetrain.co.uk
Match Report:
The train's encounter against Caversham AFC was the team's 7th competitive outing of the 2022/23 season, with the team away from home at Clayfield Copse in RDSL Division 3. This was the club's second encounter against Caversham AFC this season, winning the opening league match 3-1 on home soil down at Calcot.
The slowest of slow starts for the team saw us 2-0 down within 8 minutes of the game, with Caversham's first goal coming from a throw on the left wing that is won by their attacker, with the ball failed to be cleared away by Robert Austin. Caversham's Number 17 collected the ball and powered a stinging past Jamie Halsall to open the scoring. A second followed in the 8th minute when a through ball ghosted past Austin allowing the same player to tuck home to create a great starts for the hosts.
Trailing early on, the team clicked into gear after the 20th minute and found a route back into the game in the 22nd minute when the Caversham keeper's goal kick was weak and collected by Tom Williams to win the header deep in our attacking third, which led to a central defender clearing the ball out to Callum Parr-Jones. CPJ took the ball past two players before firing a shot that is blocked, with the ball falling to Newport who found a second shot blocked, with Parr-Jones collecting the ball and calmly finishing in the bottom-right corner to make the game 2-1.
The game's script flicked again in the 28th minute when good work on the left flank by Nikhil Garg nicely set up Newport to deliver a ball to the near-post, with the runner Owen Bowbrick darting towards the near-post and deemed to have been shoved down in the penalty area, with the team winning a penalty. Leon Mannion stepped up to bury the penalty to bring the team level amidst a good spell of our own.
The 5th and final goal in the first-half arrived during the 36th minute and started when Brad Matthews won a corner after fining a cross flicked out via the head of a Caversham corner. Bowbrick's resulting corner was guided towards the back post and won by Mannion, who nodded centrally towards Joe Sawyer, who headed to the far-left post and in, giving the team the lead at half-time.
The lone goal in the second-half would begin when the team would win a second penalty in the game, with Bowbrick showing some great footwork after a nice give-and-go combination with Mannion, which eventually led to the Number 10 getting brought down for a stonewall penalty. The award of the spot-kick would be the end of Bowbrick's game as the foul led him to fall awkwardly on his past, and after a lengthy delay, Mannion stepped up to the mark again to bury the penalty low, hard and out of the goalkeeper's reach - taking the score for 4-2 and gifting the team some clear daylight.
Caversham were reduced to long range shots as the team shored up defensively, though their Number 14 was able to strike the post with a free-kick to Halsall's left, whilst at the other end, the team were unlucky with several cut-backs on the byline, the most unfortunate chance falling to Owen Jones - who happened to be behind the ball when Newport squared him the ball and the angles were off - though overall the train's small squad did a good job to manage the game as we saw out the 2-goal lead to secure another 3 points in the league.
The result means that the team remain in 2nd place in RDSL Division 3 with 4 wins from 5 matches, behind table-toppers RE United. Next up for the team, we are away yet again to Caversham AFC, this time in the Last 16 of the RDSL Industrial Cup!
Thoughts from Club Secretary, Robert Austin:
"When we look back in the future in the Hype Train annuals of bad starts, today took the cake. From a personal standpoint at central defensive I was directly involved and largely at fault for the goals we conceded, but overall the team did not hit the ground running and it took us until the 15th minute to get into the game and after many kicks up our rears, we responded excellently to bail the team out of our defensive mishaps to start.
We began moving the ball incisively across the deck and found good triangles down both flanks, whilst began to click across the pitch. We calmed down, got our goals, grew in confidence and in the second-half really played some nice passing football and cut behind their defensive lines several times as we ran out deserved winners in spite of a poor start. I'm really happy with how we moved the ball on a slippery pitch - there was a calmness that was refreshing as we held the ball, game managed well when we needed too, and managed the occasion with a small squad too.
Largely, we are very happy with the points - today we showed great fighting spirit and character to come back from a potentially daunting position. Caversham are also a good footballing side, and a good bunch of lads, that will keep every team in the division honest, so it was a good game to hurdle successfully.
Thank you to Caversham for hosting the game on a sodden day, it was a top, back and forth game and we're looking forward to our third encounter of the season already as we play them in the Industrial Cup at the same time and same place next week."
Hype Train FC: Matchday Squad
Manager: Robert Austin
Starting 11:
GK: Jamie Halsall
DEF: Jon Watkins
DEF: Joe Sawyer
DEF: Robert Austin
DEF: Nikhil Garg
MID: Owen Bowbrick (Jones 62')
MID: Bradley Matthews
MID: Tom Williams
MID: Callum Parr-Jones
MID: Phil Newport
FOR: Leon Mannion
Substitutes:
SUB: Owen Jones
Goals & Assists:
Goal 1: Parr-Jones (goal), Newport (assist)
Goal 2: Mannion (goal), O. Bowbrick (assist)
Goal 3: Sawyer (goal), Mannion (assist)
Goal 4: Mannion (goal), O. Bowbrick (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
Believe The Hype!
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