The Isle of Man men’s national team launched their Orkney Island Games campaign with an empathetic 7-2 victory over a battling Hitra at Firth FC, Finstown on a well-manicured pitch on Sunday.

The Manx got off to a dream start with a goal in the opening minute which settled any initial nerves when a perfectly-delivered cross from Harry Best was headed home by Frank Jones.

Five minutes later, the lead was doubled when Danny Simpson chased down a through-ball before outsmarting the Hitra keeper to stroke the ball home.

Hitra responded when their first meaningful attack resulted in a penalty being awarded to the Norwegian side, with Marts Bjorken successfully converting.

But the Isle of Man restored their two-goal cushion when Jamie Callister headed home Simpson’s inviting long throw.

Once again though, Hitra hit back when Bjorken drilled home a superb effort from the edge of the area.

The Manx side took a 4-2 lead into the break when Sean Doyle fired home an angled, unstoppable drive from the edge of the box.

A key moment in the game came on 56 minutes when Even Selvag was dismissed for a second yellow card.

The Manx boys soon took advantage of their numerical superiority when Lee Gale smartly converted from the spot after Simpson was tripped in the box.

After having made a number of substitutions, the IoM took complete control of the contest and, with Hitra on the backfoot, Doyle converted following Connor Clark’s cleverly delivered cross to make it 6-2.

Doyle completed his hat-trick on 81 minutes when the lively Tomas Brown provided a through-ball for his fellow striker to complete the scoring.

ERIC CLAGUE

- Media Isle of Man’s Island Games 2025 coverage is supported by Benbridge Academy.