Valkyrs and Vikings under-12 girls and boys teams took part in the North West Regional Finals of England Hockey’s In2Hockey Competition, held at the Armitage Sports Centre in Manchester last weekend.

With the sun shining and relatives travelling from the Isle of Man and elsewhere in the UK to cheer them on, the stage was set for a brilliant day of hockey.

Each team was placed in a pool of four teams where they played matches in a round robin format and then moved onto play off matches for their overall positions in their tournament.

The Valkyrs girls’ side drew against both Kirkby Stephen and Brooklands before a 4-0 loss against Fylde.

In the play-offs, they met Lytham where the team showed great spirit to secure another 0-0 draw.

Rather than proceed to shuffles, the organisers decided to award a joint fifth place to both sides, a great result for the Peel team who had a number of players in their first year of playing hockey.

In the boys’ competition, Valkyrs and Vikings were in different pools.

In pool A, Valkyrs secured wins against Fylde (2-0) and Kirkby Stephen (3-0) before a loss against Alderley Edge (1-5).

Vikings boys were in pool B and were beaten 4-0 by Brooklands, drew 0-0 against Didsbury Northern and finished their pool matches with a 2-0 win against Penrith.

These results meant that both teams were second in their pools so they went through to the competition’s semi-finals.

Valkyrs met Brooklands and Vikings played Alderley Edge. Both teams knew they were up against tough opponents and had watched them win their respective pool matches against Manx opposition.

First up were Vikings in their semi against the Cheshire side and they produced their best performance of the day. The boys were strong defensively, showing real patience to hold play up and picking the right time to challenge which frustrated the opposition.

They held firm until there was five minutes to go when Alderley Edge scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 win.

It was then the Valkyrs turn for their semi against the Sale-based Brooklands, a strong side with a couple of standout players who ultimately made the difference.

It was a high-intensity match which was a steep learning curve for Valkyrs who in spite of remaining strong in the midfield and attempting to control the game's tempo, were unable to contain their opposition and were beaten 5-0.

It was then onto an all-Manx tie for third place.

With classic rivalry against familiar opponents the match was a great occasion with both teams having supported each other throughout the day.

After such demanding semi-finals, energy levels were understandably low.

The game was competitive and whilst fairly evenly balanced Valkyrs secured the win 2-0, taking third place as Vikings finished fourth.

The success of the squads shows the strength within Manx Junior hockey.

To see three local sides compete at such a high level - often against much larger UK-based clubs highlights the quality of coaching and player development currently taking place in the island.

The players returned home with invaluable experience and a sense of pride that will undoubtedly fuel their progress in the seasons to come.