With domestic sport currently on hold because of the latest lockdown, reporter and co-author Paul Hatton looks at the history of women’s football in the Isle of Man.

The first article in the series - looking at the inaugural season - was published in the March 16 edition of the Isle of Man Examiner, with the second installment (2000-2007) in last week’s edition on March 30.

In this third installment, Paul looks at the beginning of the Noble’s Park/Ballafletcher dominance.

The 2007/08 season saw the withdrawal of Malew and Marown, reducing the number of teams to 10 which resulted in there being only one league, Division One.

It was the season that saw the emergence of the Noble’s Park (and later Ballafletcher) rivalry as Corinthians and Douglas Royal started to dominate the local game.

Corinthians’ success was mostly built on players coming through its youth ranks. Royal’s was largely because of the loyalty of their players who gave great service to the club, notably Kym Hicklin, Kerri Williams, Sarah Breen, Rebecca Cole and Donna Shimmin (who are still playing today).

The two teams met in the Floodlit Cup final (the first time it was an all-capital affair) and Shimmin gave Royal the lead before Jade Burden equalised.

Then, with only one minute remaining, Sarah O’Reilly scored the winner as Corinthians secured their first piece of major silverware.

The team was reflective of their youth policy, with the average age being 17 and a half years old. Tracey Cowley became the first female to win a major trophy as a manager (previously winning the Floodlit Cup as a player with Union Mills).

Douglas Royal won their third title after beating Rushen United 6-5 at Springfield Road before defeating the southerners again in the FA Cup final 2-1, Hicklin scoring the winner in extra-time.

Royal’s love affair with the FA Cup continued the following campaign (2008/09), winning it for a fourth successive year by getting the better of Castletown 5-2 in the final.

The game was played at Glen Road in Laxey, the first time it was staged outside of Douglas.

The success formed part of Royal becoming the first club to win the treble under the management of Brian Cowin who is the current island manager.

The 2008/09 season saw a new league format: teams played each other once before the league was split into two, with the top five creating Division One and the remaining five forming Division Two. Teams then played each other twice to determine the winners of the two leagues.

Royal secured the Division One title after Shimmin struck from the penalty spot in a 1-0 win over Gymnasium.

Then in the Floodlit Cup final (played on a Sunday afternoon) they beat Rushen 2-1 after extra-time, Vicky Worthington scoring with the last attack of the match despite Royal having a player sent off.

Castletown won their second Division Two title.

The following season (2009/10) saw a power shift across Noble’s Park as Corinthians won their second Floodlit Cup in one of the most dramatic finals when beating Royal 3-2, before securing their maiden Division One title with a 5-1 success over Gymnasium.

The Ballafletcher duo met again in the FA Cup final, Corinthians beating their neighbours 3-1 to win the competition for the first time and thus becoming the second team to complete a treble.

Away from cup football, the league returned to two divisions with St George’s entering and DHSOB rejoining women’s football. Unfortunately, Rushen withdrew during the season.

Ramsey clinched the Division Two title.

In the 2010/11 campaign it reverted to one division with nine teams. Corinthians retained the league title but Royal proved to be cup specialists, beating Gymnasium 4-1 in the Floodlit Cup and Ramsey 3-2 in the FA Cup.

The 2011/12 season saw the same format used as the 2008/09 campaign, with the league split halfway through the campaign.

Corinthians yet again proved to be the side to beat, completing their second treble and a third successive season unbeaten.

The success in the cups came against Royal, beating their neighbours 3-2 after extra-time in the Floodlit Cup and 4-0 in the FA Cup, the latter of which saw three players sent off.

Ramsey secured their second Division Two title.

With the league reverted back to one division in 2012/13, the Ballafletcher duo continued to clock up the silverware.

The two teams met again in the Floodlit Cup final and, after a goalless affair, Royal won on penalties.

Corinthians maintained their dominance of the league, winning a fourth successive title and clinching the FA Cup 4-2, again at the expense of their neighbours.

Regarding the Isle of Man representative side, 2008 saw the introduction of the triangular tournament which also involved Jersey and the Isle of Wight. In the inaugural competition, the Manx lost both of their matches.

But the 2009 edition of the NatWest Island Games saw the Isle of Man finish amongst the medals for the first time.

After completing the group matches with a 100 percent record, they lost 1-4 to Gotland in the semi-final but in the third/fourth place play-off they defeated the Isle of Wight 3-1 to finish with the bronze medal.

Further success came in the 2010 triangular tournament, hosted by the Isle of Man, when the home side beat the Isle of Wight 1-0 and Jersey 3-0.

The 2011 Isle of Wight Island Games saw the Manx go one better, reaching the final for the first time only to lose 1-5 against Aland to finish with the silver medal.

The 2012 triangular tournament saw the Isle of Wight host the competition and, after the Manx side beat Jersey 2-0 in their opening fixture, the match against the Isle of Wight finished 1-1.

The Isle of Man duly won 6-5 on penalties and became the first side to win it on foreign soil and retain the trophy.

In 2013 the Manx registered an impressive 2-2 draw against Manchester City in a friendly, while the Isle of Man also entered the Umbro Cup (hosted at Keele), losing 0-1 to Liverpool Feds in the semi-finals.

Part four in this series: Corinthians dominate the decade and the

emergence of Peel