Lockdown 2.0 FIFA 21 Grassroots Football Tournament: The Semi-Final 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 third night of action as the Semi-Finals took place on Saturday 21st 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 Semi-Final Report (21st November 2020):
After three days of FIFA 21 competitive action, 16 teams and 14 matches, all in the name of charity, our finalists have been set ahead of Sunday's Grand Final!
The lower-half of the tournament bracket saw Saturday's later 4pm kick-off involved an Piccadilly FC outfit who overcame Windsor Corinthians 5-2 in the first round, and then replicated that same 5-2 result against our own football team Hype Train FC, take on a Colchester Crusaders side that downed tournament hosts, Stoke Poges Saints' Sunday and Caversham United on the eve of The Billy Goats reaching 10,000 followers on Twitter - with Colchester winning both matches 4-2 respectively.
With commanding and high-level displays against both Windsor and Hype, Piccadilly's Benjy Lovell was the bookmakers favourite to advance to the final, though Colchester's Tyler Shillingford who played as Barcelona for the third consecutive time in the tournament, was out to prove a point and cause a slight upset on the cards and did so early on when his Barca side countered well and took the lead.
Frustrated on his Twitch channel, Lovell eventually found an equaliser moments before half-time when, playing as Liverpool, Sadio Mane was able to dink the keeper with an acute finish - this match felt very similar to Piccadilly's quarter-final when our club representative, Callum Fox-Spence, went in 1-1 at half-time and had the chances to go in with the lead.
The second-half saw Lovell recreate blistering second-half performances for the third time in a row when Xherdan Shaqiri twisted and turned in the box before burying an effort, with clinical finishes from Sadio Mane securing a place in the final for the London based outfit.
Meanwhile, on the top end of the bracket...
The top-end of the tournament bracket has been wide open and unpredictable for the entire duration of the tournament, with Piccadilly already knowing their opponents in the final by the time of their game as Barton Rovers entertained Slough United in a lunch-time kick-off.
Barton have blown both of their opponents out of the water so far in the tournament with their club representative, 'Big Neil', brushing aside JK Silvertown 9-1 in the opening round, before taking apart Stoke Poges Sunday 6-2 in their quarter-final.
As for Slough, they've progressed with narrow margins of victory, moving past the most northernly team in the competition, Malt Shovel, 3-2 in a close game last time out, before their club representative, Duane Herbert, got past FC Lions representative, Dale Jenkins, in a 5-3 victory to set up the tie with Barton.
International teams haven't been on the menu for most participants during the tournament, though Barton opted to play as France whilst Slough went for Man United and the teams traded goals in a back and forth first-half with the game going in 2-2 at the break.
With many games changing their flow in the second-half, Barton were able to take control of the proceedings and hit Slough with 4 uninterrupted goals as they cruised to victory and becoming the first of the sides to book their place in the final. This means that Barton have score more goals in the competition (20) than any other team and will pose a serious threat against the experience of Lovell for Piccadilly in the final.
Well done to both Barton and Piccadilly on their berth in the final, it's been a fantastic effort from every single team and the team here at Hype Train HQ and in the grassroots football community will have our eyes peeled for the Grand Final tomorrow!
Make sure to tune in again tomorrow (Sunday) as the tournament enters the Grand final between Barton Rovers and Piccadilly FC, with the match set to be broadcast by both teams.
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.
