The OAK-sponsored Isle of Man age group sides were away competing in round two of the England Hockey Championships the weekend before last.

There were two wins for the under-16 sides, along with a win and a defeat for the under 14s.

A very tough sea crossing surprisingly did not take too much out of the players and upon arrival at Heysham each squad parted ways to face their opponents at various venues.

A report on the under-14 girls appeared in last week’s edition of the Examiner.

The u14 boys headed to the Wirral to face Oxton, a highly-respected club with a good track record at junior level.

With only three players in the 13-man squad having previous experience of the championships - added to the fact that talented midfielders George Leece (injured) and Oli Christian were unavailable - it was always going to be a huge step up and tough task for them.

But they did not shy away from the challenge and were rewarded with numerous corners and two well-taken goals. Midfielder Caleb Blakemore did a sterling job keeping exceptional Oxton player Leo Steppes at bay and was rewarded with player of the match. Final score: 2-9.

The team now moves to the plate completion which will provide further experience for this young developing team.

The under-16 boys headed to Altrincham to face current title holders Timperley who they lost to in the quarter-finals last season.

They were only too aware of the pressure that was on them and this was evident as they went a goal down in the early stages.

Timperely did not let up and the match was end-to-end but, after a period of great pressure, the Isle of Man slotted home their first goal to head into half time at 1-1.

Almost straight after the restart, a penalty flick was taken expertly by Joe Savage and this opened the floodgates for the Manx team.

The islanders went on the rampage, scoring no fewer than eight more goals in what was an impressive display by this talented team. Douglas Quayle scored a hat-trick, with Leo Plass and Cam Roome also getting on the scoresheet.

The final game of the day was the under-16 girls who pushed back at 3pm against Chester at Abbeygate.

The Isle of Man teams have had numerous fixtures over the years against Chester, all extremely close affairs and well-fought.

The girls were eager to take the match to Chester and Penny Webster did just that, shooting home a great effort midway through the first half.

The second half was a highly-contested affair with chances for both teams, the only difference being that the Isle of Man converted theirs with another finely-taken effort this time by Sofia Cosgrave. The girls now continue their championship run and eagerly await the next round draw.

All in all a very successful day for the squads as they headed for a very delayed and long sailing back to the island. Manx Hockey Association wish to thank OAK Group for the sponsorship and Isle of Man Steam Packet for travel assistance.