The latest edition of Isle of Man Newspapers’ Team of the Week is a Railway Cup special following last weekend’s semi-finals.

With Rushen United and Corinthians winning to set up a Boxing Day final showdown at the Bowl, it’s no surprise to see both teams very well represented in the hypothetical XI.

The only goalkeeper to record a clean sheet in the semi-finals was Rushen United’s Dean Kearns who duly dons the TotW number one jersey after helping the Spaniards get the better of St George’s 4-0.

Also impressing in that game at Glencrutchery Road were Kearns’ team-mates Alex Maitland and Adam Cooil as well as Geordies youngster Cameron Kay.

Continuing their fine 2020-21 campaigns, Maitland and Cooil formed an impenetrable defensive double act in the Rushen backline to thwart the Saints attack, while Kay was a rare bright point for Geordies on a day to forget for the former Grand Slam winners.

Completing the back four is Corinthians star Chris Cannell who produced a typically strong performance for the Whites during their hard-fought victory away at St Mary’s.

The three-man Team of the Week midfield is made up entirely of players from that match at the Bowl, namely St Mary’s captain Frank Jones plus Corinthians duo Stephen Whitley and Ronan McDonnell.

The latter was in fine form in the engine room for the Whites as he helped inspire a second-half comeback, while Jones grabbed a goal as the 10-man Saints threatened to pull off an upset when they went 2-1 up at the national stadium.

But Whitley worked his usual magic by setting up Corinthians’ third of the afternoon before wrapping up the scoring himself late on.

Benefiting from Whitley’s assist was Dan Simpson who played a key role in the Whites’ success and was involved in the foul which led to St Mary’s keeper Adam Kinvig being sent off.

Therefore, Simpson lines up in a three-man attack alongside team-mate Sean Doyle and Rushen’s Stephen Riding who helped themselves to two goals apiece at the weekend.

Doyle netted an early header to put the Whites in front before scoring the all-important equaliser, while Riding was the standout performer as he inspired the Spaniards to an impressive 4-0 victory over Geordies which resulted in him being named as the player of the day.

Team of the Week

Goalkeeper

Dean Kearns (Rushen)

Defence

Cameron Kay (St George’s)

Alex Maitland (Rushen)

Adam Cooil (Rushen)

Chris Cannell (Corinthians)

Midfield

Stephen Whitley (Corinthians)

Frank Jones (St Mary’s)

Ronan McDonnell (Corinthians)

Attack

Ste Riding (Rushen)

Sean Doyle (Corinthians)

Dan Simpson (Corinthians)