The Isle of Man’s under-14 hockey side made history on Sunday by becoming the first Manx side to qualify for a England Hockey Tier-Two Cup Championship final.

The islanders defeated semi-final opponents Oxford Hawks on shuffles after the pair had drawn 2-2 in Oxfordshire.

The hosts opened the scoring around the 30-minute mark following a quick counter-attack, capitalising on a loose clearance from the islanders to take a 1-0 lead into half-time.

The Manx came out strongly in the second half and were quickly awarded a penalty stroke. Bacchas’ Ryan Cartwright stepped up to slot home the equaliser.

Oxford responded almost immediately with another goal, restoring their lead.

However, the islanders refused to back down and continued to apply pressure. Their persistence paid off with 15 minutes remaining, when Ramsey’s Charlie Dormer levelled things up.

The closing stages were tense, with end-to-end action, but the final whistle blew with the score tied at 2-2 sending the match to shuffles.

Oxford stepped up first but missed the target. Adam Ellis’s effort was then saved, but island goalkeeper Seth Millar then produced two outstanding saves to keep his team in contention.

Harri Lewis calmly converted his shuffle, putting the IoM ahead.

Millar then made another crucial intervention to maintain the island’s advantage.

Cartwright then stepped up again, scoring confidently and converting the subsequent flick past the Oxford goalkeeper.

Oxford managed to score to stay in the contest, but Castletown’s Chris Crompton-Heavey held his nerve to score the decisive goal for the Manx.