The Isle of Man men’s football team advanced to the Island Games semi-finals by defeating hosts Orkney 3-1 at Kirkwall Grammar on Tuesday.

In front of a huge partisan crowd, both sides entered the final group match on maximum points.

The Manx started on the front foot but didn’t capitalise on several corners, the best chance falling to Daniel Simpson who hit the woodwork.

The hosts gradually grew into the game and created several chances of their own.

On 38 minutes, the visitors broke the deadlock when Sean Doyle broke clear from the defence and steered a low effort into the net.

Shortly before the interval, the IoM were fortunate not to concede an equaliser when a deceptive cross was scrambled clear.

With wind advantage after the restart, Orkney demonstrated their intentions with some set-pieces that kept the visitors on their toes.

But on the break it was the Manx side that nearly added a second when Lee Gale found Simpson who fired narrowly wide.

A pivotal moment in the game arrived with the introduction of Tomas Brown who, within four minutes of coming off the bench, showcased his goalscoring prowess when he eluded the offside trap and finished smartly.

With their tails up, Chris Bass’s side continued to press. Following a superbly-worked move, Gale delivered a pass into the box, Brown’s close-range effort was superbly saved by the goalkeeper but Daniel Pickering followed up and made it 3-0.

In the closing stages, Orkney were awarded a penalty which Jay Foubister calmy converted, but this turned out to be a mere consolation as the IoM finished as group winners.

The Men will now face Ynys Mon later today (Thursday) in the semi-finals, kicking off at 5pm (Photo: Paul Hatton)

ERIC CLAGUE AND PAUL HATTON