The Isle of Man’s senior men’s and women’s hockey sides travelled to Chelmsford in Essex recently to compete in the Plum Tournament.

The competition pitched the island squads up against some of the best teams from around the country.

With only one or two notable absentees, women’s coaches Jamie Brown and Neil Crowe named a strong squad for the tournament that included only one debutante in Castletown stopper Zara Sweeney.

Upminster caught the Manx women slightly cold when scoring early in the opening game.

Despite this setback, the Isle of Man grew to dominate proceedings and, although the equaliser came in bizarre fashion defensively, it was no less than the team and scorer Breesha Foxton deserved.

Maddy Dunlop was particularly impressive in the centre and, while the tied scoreline was flattering to Upminster, a number of well-worked penalty corners resulted in Zoe Crowe confidently striking home the winner to make it 2-1.

Chelmsford were next and, despite going up against the hosts, the reds dominated as they soon went two goals ahead through the prolific front pairing of Georgia Foxton and Carney.

Chelmsford were hanging on somewhat but they managed to reduce the deficit at the back post to provide a slightly nervy second period. But the Manx side completed a deserved 2-1 victory, Valkyrs’ midfielder Ellan Cleator excelling with a stoical performance.

If the first two games had been slightly closer than perhaps the balance of play would suggest, there was no doubt about the third game as Old Loughtonians were blown away on their own pitch.

A fine display included goals from Breesha Foxton, Sarah Blackman and two from Georgia Foxton. One of the latter’s was a goal of the tournament contender, when leaping to turn in a head-height, reverse-stick cross from Mia Greenwood. It left their hosts reeling.

Three wins out of three was encouraging but next up was a stern test against toughest opposition, Cardiff Met, who took the lead in the first half.

After a full weekend of hockey, the Manx side could have been forgiven for sitting off the pace, but Carney fosters a winning mentality in her charges, along with excellent fitness levels.

It was the latter that shone through, as the Welsh side could not compete with their Manx counterparts.

An equaliser from Breesha Foxton dragged them level before captain Carney put the icing on the cake in the dying minutes to lead a jubilant side to four wins out of four.

Despite many excellent performances throughout the squad, Laura Atkinson was voted player of the tournament by her team-mates, epitomising the quality and attitude that the island women displayed all weekend.

MEN’S TOURNAMENT

The IoM men first came up against Norwich, who played physical hockey and raced into a two-goal lead. The Manx team fought back with debutant Will Hassall composed under pressure. The effort was rewarded with a penalty corner rammed home by Andrew Whiting.

Despite dominating the second half, the Manx lads couldn’t find the equaliser and the game ended with a narrow 2-1 win for Norwich.

Later in the day the men faced Saffron Walden, a team in the league above Norwich. After weathering early pressure, the Isle of Man broke forward and Jonny Callow’s cross was turned in by Thomas Tsitsos.

Somewhat against the run of play, Saffron Walden equalised and then won a penalty corner from which the flick was powered towards the top corner until captain Jamie Brown hooked it off the line to ensure the score remained 1-1 at half-time.

Early in the second half the Manx team broke quickly from an opposition penalty corner and Robin Masson set up Andy Vernon-Browne for an excellent sliding finish .

Saffron Walden lost their shape and discipline with a number of yellow cards, allowing Whiting to score two more goals to make the final score 4-1 to the Isle of Man.

Special mention to debutant Alex Kneale who survived some rough treatment but kept fighting for every ball. Juan Kermeen and Hassall alternated at the back, showing grit and composure and Jai Patel in goal performed heroics as Saffron Walden tried to get back into the match.

On the Sunday, Isle of Man lost against Bedford, conceding three penalty corner goals to one penalty stroke by Whiting. This result was disappointing as again the Manx side dominated for much of the game.

National League outfit Peterborough provided the opposition in the final game. Alex Bell poached a typical goal after stealing the ball off a defender, but Peterborough showed their class and scored three without reply.

Tsitsos scored a back-post finish to raise hopes but Peterborough scored twice in the second half and kept the Isle of Man at arm’s length until Tim Henderson nicked a goal with virtually the final touch of the match. Final score - Isle of Man 3, Peterborough 5.

Tough games against tough opposition was precisely what the island side expected. Tom Tsitsos was voted player of the tournament by his peers.