.png)
Hype Train F.C has the desire to drive forwards and turn potential into a Slough Town Junior Cup Final win
- Rob Stevens
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Hype Train F.C manager Robert Austin believes his team are beginning to turn their potential into positive results ahead of the 2025 Slough Town Junior Cup Final.
The Train will be a part of history next Wednesday when the competition Final returns to the heart of Slough for the first time in more than 25 years: the match being played at the Arbour Park Stadium (7.30pm kick off), the home of Slough Town F.C
Hype Train have used this season as a chance to rebuild following a tough previous campaign, and Austin declared reaching the Junior Cup Final has given his side the desire to drive forwards in recent weeks.
The boss explained: “Having the opportunity to be a part of (East Berkshire League) Division One this season has allowed the club the chance to add players after a tough season in the Premier Division in 2023-24. It has gifted us with the chance to rebuild and grow as a football club. This has been invaluable for us as we learn to navigate a tough division, with teams like F.C Bracknell and Slough Heating Laurencians F.C Reserves providing real tests on a weekly basis.
“Our expectations at the start of the season were to build on summer recruitment and attempt to be competitive near the top end of the league table and, despite some hiccups along the way, we’ve largely been a consistent side. This is despite moving home grounds and trying to find a new identity.
“A lot of the squad are disappointed to have dropped points in certain league games, and we could and should have done better in others, but personally, I’m really happy that our squad has become more regular on a weekly bases and we’re able to focus on turning that potential into results on the pitch. In truth, we’ve had a lot of very positive results to look back on as the season progresses.
“Being in the Slough Town Junior Cup Final, in the first season we’ve entered the competition, has ticked off a major target for the team. We’ve worked hard relentlessly to qualify for a Cup Final.
“For a lot of the young players in our squad, this will be a really good occasion after a promising season, and their efforts for the football club deserve to have the chance to compete for silverware in a Cup Final.”
Hype Train have had a taste of silverware having won the 2022 East Berkshire League Presidents Cup, and the team has the chance of a cup double this season with a second appearance in the Presidents Cup Final next Friday, just two days after their challenge to win the Slough Town Junior Cup.
No doubt, it will be a momentous week ahead for The Train, but to lift the Junior Cup, Austin and his stars will have to beat a rampant F.C Bracknell team that currently stands top in Division One. The two sides have met twice already this season; Hype Train winning a thrilling contest 6-5 in on the opening day of the league season, before F.C Bracknell gained revenge with an 8-1 thumping in the first round of the League Cup competition in November.
Austin commented: “Both sides were involved in a thriller on the opening day of the season back in August, with ourselves running out 6-5 winners. It was almost 30 degrees that day and the 3G pitch at Waingels College was as hot as can be. The match was coined as a contender for ‘Game of the Season’ after what was a really entertaining back-and-forth game.
“Since then, Bailey Gandolfi (F.C Bracknell manager) and his team have gone from strength-to-strength, and have been a huge credit to the East Berkshire League. They’re a decent bunch of young players, looking to play football the right way, and have so far been involved in a stellar season on their part. I mean this as a compliment, but given the qualities of their team they would have been a good side in the Premier Division from day one, and will do next season with a similar squad.
“We take no game for granted and will have to be at our best to lift the trophy.”
The Slough Town Junior Cup competition has not been without some controversy this season after Slough Heating Laurencians F.C Reserves were removed after it was discovered two players that represented the team in the Semi Finals were ineligible to compete. The competition committee took the decision to re-instate F.C Bracknell, the side that had lost the Semi Finals match to Slough Heating on penalties.
Austin commented: “We had to wait a long time while the Committee investigated the matter, so we had to wait with anticipated breath over our opposition for the Final. In truth, we knew that no matter the side of the coin the investigation landed, we were in for a top game against one of the top two sides in our division.
“I feel sorry for the Slough Heating players that played no part in their disqualification from the competition but, I also have no sympathy for clubs that actively skirt the rules and expect to get away with cheating the system, be known to them at the time or not.”
Hype Train have successfully come through three home draws to reach the Junior Cup Final this season and Austin believes this has given his side the desire to drive forwards heading into one of the biggest weeks in the history of the football club.
Austin said: “Our journey to the final saw us feature exclusively at home thanks to the luck of the draw, with the team having to get through several tight encounters en-route to the showpiece event. We had a variety of opposition to overcome, with each team boasting their own strengths.
“Eton Wick were difficult to break down in the first round although we stifled them twice in the penalty shoot-out to progress.
“In the Quarter Final, the young Langley Under 23s squad were energetic and passionate, though let that passion boil over into frustration and several red cards shown to players and management alike. The game was also marred by torrential weather conditions.
“The Semi Final match against Taplow United F.C Swans was a game of attrition: we had to fight back from falling behind and had to be patient before eventually running away with it with a strong second-half performance. Again, this was on an extremely cold and wet afternoon.”
Austin added: “This is our debut season in the competition and the ability to compete in the Junior Cup has given the club the belief and desire to drive in the right section on a week-to-week basis. Reading the final has created a good focus for the team in every game.
“This is also an historical local competition, so to be at the table this season has been brilliant for the squad to come together, build and grow through the ups-and-downs. It has really motivated the team to keep on pushing for a showpiece event that doesn’t happen all to often to footballers.”
Austin also credited the Junior Cup Final as a ‘must-watch event’ as it returns to the heart of Slough for the first time in more than a quarter of a century.
He explained: “It just feels right to have the Slough Town Cup competition Finals hosted at its natural home at Arbour Park. Being gifted the chance to showcase our football club at this brilliant Non-League stadium will be such a boost to The Train, as well as to Slough Town F.C
“We’ve previously played at the 1878 Stadium in Burnham, so the game at Arbour Park will be another milestone to tick off as we look to make history in the final and represent the league in a positive light to the wider grassroots community.
“Cup Finals are a privilege and an honour to be involved in, and all credit goes to the group of players that have gotten us to this point. The positive support of the team and friends as well as volunteers deserve what is our second cup final as a member of the East Berkshire League.
“We hope for nothing more than to show ourselves in a good light in what we will be Cup Final involving a pair of clubs that have done well to put themselves in this position.
“If you’ve never watched a Hype Train gain, then we would love this to be your first at Arbour Park. And, if our opening day encounter against F.C. Bracknell was anything to go by, then the Junior Cup Final will be a must-watch event in the calendar.”
Comments