Ellan Vannin held the new Yorkshire International Football Association side to a 1-1 draw, in the latter’s first game on Sunday afternoon.

The fixture on the outskirts of Pontefract drew media attention from across the UK and further abroad, as YIFA took to the pitch having only been formed last year.

Yorkshire’s 19-man squad was made up mainly of players from Northern Premier League Division One sides.

Seon Ripley had missed the first chance to make an historic mark for Yorkshire when his early first-half penalty was saved by Rushen goalkeeper Dean Kearns.

Yorkshire and Bradford Park Avenue goalie Ed Hall then produced fine saves to deny Daniel Bell and Sean Doyle as Chris Bass Sr’s Manx side responded well.

Half-time replacement Furo Davies then crashed home the fixture’s opener early in the second period and looked set to earn the Manxmen victory until Jordan Coduri raced onto a fine through-ball from Yorkshire captain Pat McGuire to level the scores.

Man of the Match Hall had to be alert late on again to foil Davies and St George’s youngster Joey Quayle from snatching late winners.

Ellan Vannin team which faced Yorkshire FA: Dean Kearns, Sam Caine, Sean Quaye, Tom Wood, Daniel Bell, Frank Jones ©, Ciaran McNulty (Furo Davies 46m), Alex Holden (Rhys Oates 62), Mike Williams, Jack McVey, Sean Doyle (Joey Quayle 70m).