Lockdown 2.0 FIFA 21 Grassroots Football Tournament: The Last 16 Report
Welcome aboard the home of The Hype Train Hype Train Football Club. A second national lockdown in the UK has paused grassroots football, with sixteen football clubs within England coming together to form and compete in the first Grassroots Football Lockdown FIFA Tournament. Read the official report from the first night of action as the Last 16 took place on Thursday 19th November 2020. All aboard.
What is the Grassroots Lockdown Tournament all about?:
Spearheaded by Stoke Poges Saints' Sunday side, and backed by several excellent sponsors and partners, a group of 16 teams have actually been able to organise a single knock-out tournament on Sony's PS4, with the Round of 16 set to take place on Thursday 19th November 2020, with the final currently scheduled for Sunday 22nd November 2020.
Best yet, the entire tournament is geared up towards charity, with the winning team having the honour of picking the eventual charity. Each of the 16 teams has already paid a £5 entry fee, and we here at Hype Train HQ have already stated that if our club representative prevails we will be donating another £50 towards the charity pot. If you would like to find out how to contribute to charity, please contact Stoke Poges on Twitter, or by emailing our team - contact@thehypetrain.co.uk
The grand final winner will also be presented with a bespoke trophy from the team at Awards FC, who are the title sponsor for this charity tournament, with the team at Awards specialists in delivering bespoke football awards, such as medals and Man of the Match and Player of the Month trophies, all designed to your club's likeness.
Event Details to Bookmark:
Last 16: Thursday 19th November 2020 (8-9pm)
Quarter-Finals: Friday 20th November 2020 (8pm)
Semi-Finals: Saturday 21st November 2020 (8pm)
Grand Final: Sunday 22nd November 2020 (8pm)
Lockdown 2.0 FIFA 21 Grassroots Football Tournament: The Last 16 Report (19th November 2020):
With all the build-up and prep behind us, and the nerves of the club representatives building, the majority of games took place at 8pm. The first result to filter through was one of the host teams, Stoke Poges Saints' Sunday side, going up against a strong Colchester Crusaders representative, Tyler Shillingford. The Colchester & District Sunday League put a Liverpool controlled Poges to the sword in a 4-2 win, with Shillingford using Barcelona in a 4-2 victory.
Colchester's win meant that they were set to face one of Caversham United, the side with the most followers in the tournament, against fellow Sunday league outfit, Denham United. In the lowest-scoring game of the opening round, Canversham edged out a 1-0 victory with their club representative, McBriggs, using Bayern Munich in the victory over Denahm's Liverpool selection.
The pair of Caversham and Colchester will be looking to oust one another in an attempt to seal a place in the semi-finals against one of either Piccadilly FC or our very own Hype Train FC.
With Liverpool being the losing side in the first few matches, Piccadilly's representative, Benjy Lovell, used the current Premier League Champions in a 5-2 victory over Windsor Corinthians. Lovell represented QPR and got to the Last 16 of the recent Quaranteam Cup and will be a favourite for the entire tournament, and a hurdle our own team have to overcome in what we anticipate will be a blockbuster quarter-final tie.
Our beloved Hype Train FC made light work of The Rose Athletic, with the club's number #7 Callum Fox-Spence using Liverpool in a 4-0 victory over Rose's France selection. The contest was one-side once Fox-Spence scored the opening goal and punctuated a well-deserved victory in the second-half with a host of well worked goals. The result alongside Caversham's meant that they were the only sides to keep a clean sheet on route to the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, on the top end of the bracket...
In the 8pm kick-offs, the tournament's dedicated charity club, The Charitable FC, were looking to tame High Wycombe Sunday Football Combination club side, FC Lions, with the latter making a remarkable comeback in the second-half to steal a victory. Charitable were 3-0 up after 65 minutes played, with Lions club representative, Dale Jenkins, scoring 4 unopposed goals in dramatic fashion in what Stoke Poges have christened as 'lockdownbul'.
The prize for FC Lions is a quarter-final tie against Slough United, with the Berkshire based side beating the only northern team in the competition in another close encounter, with Malt Shovel FC's Tommy Butterfield going down against Man United. This means there will be at least one team from the East Berkshire region in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The final games to lock in the final couple of quarter-final births took place after 9pm and were dramatic as unfortunately Foxhall United had to pull out of the tournament due to work related commitments, meaning Stoke Poges' Sunday side were reinstated and given a second crack of the whip against their fellow Stoke Poges Saints Saturday side in a derby game. The Saturday squad had probably wished for a bye to the quarters once it was all said and done as their Sunday counterparts steamrolled to a 6-1 victory, sneaking their way to the other side of the bracket on short notice.
Looking to add further fuel to the fire to close out the night, JK Silvertown, using their First Team Manager in the tournament, whilst also having just gone through two hours of Pro Clubs for his side elsewhere, was the victim of FIFA fatigue as Silvertown were boxed into the corner against Barton Rovers and their club representative, 'Big Neil', in a dominant 9-1 victory. The win for Barton was the biggest on the night and will mean for a tense quarter-final for Stoke Poges' Sunday.
Make sure to tune in again tomorrow (Friday) as the tournament heats up with the quarter-final bracket, with all matches set to kick-off at 8pm, with many clubs streaming their games live.
Watch Hype Train FC's 4-0 win over The Rose Athletic on YouTube:
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in 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.
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, or visit our website here at www.thehypetrain.co.uk
All aboard.
