In the wildest of conditions, the Isle of Man national men’s hockey second XI were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Bowdon thirds on Saturday.

The EH Championships Men’s Tier Three Vase fixture was the only local hockey match to go ahead at the weekend and only survived thanks to the NSC all-weather pitch. Every other game in the island was called off due to flooding.

The away side arrived after catching the red-eye flight from Manchester, with minimal disruption, and both teams had to contend with relentless heavy rain from first whistle to last.

The opening quarter was a cagey affair as both sides adapted to the sodden surface and enjoyed spells of possession, as the first real chances fell to the Isle of Man from short corners.

Bowdon lost a man for breaking early and were forced to defend with three. A drag from the top of the D fell slightly behind Tom Lothian, but he improvised brilliantly to lift it onto the crossbar and back into play.

Alex Kneale followed up and saw his rebound parried, before Tom Tsitsos's volley was tipped over the bar by the keeper’s shoulder – a fine double save to keep the home team at bay.

As the game settled, the standing water began to dictate play. Passes held up on the wet surface and both sides were repeatedly caught trying to outlet from the back.

The Isle of Man were caught deep in their own 22 and conceded a short corner, which Bowdon converted with a well-placed drag flick into the netting.

The response was immediate. Great work down the left from Steven Ronan, Elliot Reid and Alfie Melling found young debutant Caleb Blakemore in space inside the D.

Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger and rifled the ball into the roof of the net - a memorable first goal on debut with the keeper left with no chance.

Half-time arrived with the score at 1-1 and both sides took shelter for brief respite.

Bowdon, a well-drilled side who play together weekly, came out of the blocks quickest after the break. Through a combination of Isle of Man errors and relentless pressing, they dominated territory and pinned the hosts deep.

Under intense pressure, home keeper Harry Woods produced his finest moment of the match, saving a penalty flick with a stunning stop to keep his side in it. He went on to make a string of further saves but was finally beaten by a short-range effort to make it 2-1 to the visitors.

The Manx side’s best chance of the quarter came from a neat one-two between Andy Whiting and Tom Lothian that beat a defender on top of the D, only for Lothian's bouncing volley to skim millimetres wide of the post.

Needing a breakthrough, the Isle of Man flipped the territory in the final quarter and put the Bowdon back line under pressure.

Playmaker Andy Whiting strung several attacks together, creating openings for Karl Moore and Alfie Swales, who were denied by excellent last-ditch defending.

The last chance of the match fell to Elliot Reid. Linking through the middle, he was put clean through on goal and slotted low towards the corner.

With half the crowd already celebrating, the ball cannoned off the inside of the post, spun cruelly and jumped back out to be cleared by the ever-present Bowdon defence.

That proved to be the final meaningful action, as Bowdon held on for a hard-fought 2-1 away win.

The Isle of Man man of the match was named as Harry Woods.

RACHEL ANDREW