Four of the island's national hockey sides travelled to the UK recently to compete in the quarter-finals of the EH Tier Two English Junior Championships.

All were drawn against opposition from the Midlands, one of the strongest hockey areas in the country after London and the south. As expected, the matches were played to a high standard.

First up was the under-14 boys against North Stafford who had dropped down from Tier One. It took the Manx boys a while to settle in to what was a very physical and tense game.

Just before half-time, Theo Robertson broke the deadlock with a nice move in front of goal. He added two more in the second half which saw them take a 3-0 lead going into the last 10 minutes.

North Stafford hit back, scoring twice late on to set up a very tense finale but the IoM hung on to win 3-2 and book a place in the semi-finals.

The under-16 girls were next to take to the pitch, travelling down to Ashby-de-la-Zouch. They started very nervously and Ashby had three quick corners in succession which, thanks to some superb goalkeeping from Summer Ritchie, they failed to convert.

The Manx team settled and the midfield began to link up very nicely, with the forward line to produce some stunning running play.

This allowed centre forward Lucy Ballard to convert twice and a fine goal 10 minutes from time by Ashton Fick saw the Isle of Man girls progress through to the semi-finals with a 3-0 victory.

The under-14 girls travelled to Rugby and East Warwickshire in the late afternoon. The Midlands team dominated the first quarter but the island side held their own before beginning to exert pressure on their opposition.

The teams went into the second half at 0-0 and this continued into the second half, with neither team converting any chances.

With 15 minutes to go the momentum changed when Rugby scored from a slightly controversial corner, following which a rejuvenated home side scored three further goals in quick succession and this saw the island girls go out of the competition, losing 4-0.

The final match of the day saw the under-18 girls take to the pitch in Warwick, later than expected because of traffic delays.

The girls took a while to get going and conceded early to Khalsa Leamington, but the Manx side quickly replied through an excellent strike from Evie Watterson.

Lucy Cartwright added to the score from a strike from the top of the D, but just before half-time the score was levelled by Leamington from a short corner.

The second half remained 2-2 until the full-time whistle when, due to lack of time, penalty flicks would decide the outcome rather than the Isle of Man girls’ preference of shuffles.

Despite a good effort, the Manx team went down 1/3 on flicks. An emotional end to the campaign for the team, particularly the Year 13s as their junior squads journey finishes after six years.

RACHEL ANDREW