The Isle of Man’s under-16s girls team travelled to East Anglia on Sunday to face Norwich City in the semi-finals of the England Hockey Tier 2 Plate competition.

The match began brightly for the Manx side, who created several early chances and forced the Norwich goalkeeper into action.

As the game settled, it became more evenly contested, with both teams winning multiple short corners but both were unable to convert them.

The Isle of Man then started to build pressure, but against the run of play, the hosts capitalised on a counter-attack scoring from close range to take a 1-0 lead into half-time.

The second half proved more challenging with the Manx girls struggling to gain early control and conceding a second goal, which put the English side 2-0 ahead.

With 25 minutes remaining, the Isle of Man pushed forward with renewed intent.

Bacchas’ Amira Crookall made several strong runs down the right channel, but the forwards were unable to apply the finishing touch.

Sustained pressure eventually paid off, as the Manx teens won a series of short corners.

One of these was expertly converted by Bacchas’ Zara Levy, who struck a superb straight shot from the top of the D.

With only five minutes remaining, the Isle of Man pressed hard for an equaliser but were unable to find a second goal before the final whistle.

Although the result didn’t go their way, the team can be incredibly proud of their journey and performance in reaching the latter stages of the competition.

Isle of Man squad: Eva Moore, Mya Harding, Ashton Fick, Lucy Ballard, Sophie Partington, Julie Jacobs, Zara Levy, Holly Bashforth, Faith Watterson, Lauren Collister, Amelie Corlett, Summer Ritchie and Amira Crookall. Coaches: Rachael Middleton and Niamh Goddard.