While the domestic hockey matches were wiped out at the weekend, three island teams were away competing in national competitions.

Following a failed attempt to travel to England a couple of weeks earlier, the Isle of Man under-14 boys finally got to play Leicester boys in their English Hockey Cup last-16 match, together with a group of supporting parents and coaches.

Played at a very wet and windy Lancaster University pitch on Sunday morning, the boys got off to a great start with goals from Cameron Roome and Caleb Blakemore putting the team 2-0 up early on.

A period of concerted pressure by the Manx side then followed, but they were unable to force a third goal.

Leicester then broke quickly to score a good goal to make the score 2-1 to the IoM at half-time.

Going into the second half, two early Isle of Man goals from Blakemore and Kyle Gunnion effectively killed off the game.

Another two followed from Roome and Ollie Christian before Leicester scored a second consolation to make it 6-2.

There was still time for the island side to score a final deserved goal from Douglas Quayle following a great short corner routine involving Gunnion and Will Wiseman to make the final score 7-2 to the IoM.

l They now go into the quarter-finals where they will play Sheffield Hallam in a couple of weeks time.

Paul Wiseman

The Isle of Man senior men’s squad travelled to Altrincham, Greater Manchester to take on Bowden seconds in the England Hockey Tier 2 championships on Saturday.

This was also a last-16 tie, after beating Liverpool West Derby HC in the previous round and the squad remained largely unchanged for this one.

The weather in Manchester was cold and wet, but unlike the island women’s team who performed a snow-clearing exercise in Lancaster to ensure their game went ahead, the pitch was fit and the game started on time at 1.15pm.

Bowdon, who play in regular league hockey, were a slick, well-drilled unit dominating possession in the early stages.

A quick break led to a chance for Macklin Wilson, however, and he forced a great save from Bowdon stopper Will Grant.

The home side forced a penalty corner and, although the Isle of Man defended the first shot, the ball was returned to the circle where Tom Makin glanced a neat deflection past Juan Bellando in the IoM goal to put Bowdon 1-0 up.

Bowdon continued to press and force turnovers, while the island side hunted mistakes. After a Bowdon error, Tim Henderson was able to set Dom Hubble free in the circle and he slotted the equaliser past the keeper.

A further corner to Bowdon led to IoM skipper Jamie Brown making one of his trademark goalie clearances to keep the scores level, and half-time arrived with a 1-1 scoreline.

After a half-time team talk, the sides resumed battle. Bowdon continued to have the lion’s share of possession, forcing Isle of Man into some last-ditch defending, with Bellando making several saves.

In a rare foray forward, Henderson slung a cross into the circle and Patrick Cox, lurking at the far post, converted a neat volley to put the IoM 2-1 up.

This was against the run of play, but the Manx side then looked to hold on for the final 10 minutes.

Bowdon removed goalie Grant and played with 11 outfield players, launching wave after wave of attacks on the Manx goal. Heroic interventions and poor finishing meant that the game entered the last two tense minutes.

Finally, Bowdon made the breakthrough when an unlucky deflection fell to Elliott White and he bunted it past Bellando for the equaliser 2-2.

Grant returned to the fray and, with no further score, the two sides faced a penalty shoot-out to decide the tie.

Although Bellando was able to thwart two Bowdon penalty shots, three others found the net. Only Luis Novo-Smith converted for the vistors, so the Manxmen bowed out 3-1 in the shoot out.

It was a fair result, Bowdon having dominated the game for long periods deserved the win. But the Isle of Man team deserves great credit in taking them to penalties, and the game itself was a fine display of hard, uncompromising hockey, played in a good spirit.

After the game, Bowdon Hockey Club entertained the Manx party fabulously, and the trip was a great experience, particularly for the younger players.

Good luck to Bowdon in the next round.

JON WHITING AND

JAMIE BROWN

l A full report on the Isle of Man women’s England Hockey Championship Tier 2 game against Garstang will appear in this Thursday’s Manx Independent.

The quarter-final fixtures will be drawn shortly.