The Under 14 and 18 Boys got the England Hockey Junior Championships underway for the Isle of Man on Sunday.  Disappointingly the Under 16 Boys, Under 18 and Under 16 Girls opposition all conceded their fixtures against the Island . The Under 14 Girls had received a bye.

Both the Under 18 and 14 Boys faced Preston.  

The U14 Boys were in good spirits and started the game strongly having 5 short corners in succession.  The Preston goalie and defense stood strong, until Adam E’s first tomahawk hit the back of the net 1-0 to IOM.

Preston came back  quickly with a goal but lovely work between Harri L,  Jean V and Samuel N led to another Adam E tomahawk, to make it 2-1 at half time to IOM Boys. 

After the half time break IOM Boys high came out looking to increase their score.  A determined run from Christopher C-H to score and make it 3-1.  This was quickly followed by Christopher C-H driving into the D to take another shot, but the ball hit the post and Jean V was there to tap in, 4-1. This was followed by a well taken penalty flick from Ryan C, into the top corner, 5-1. 

A through ball from Harri L to Theo R on the left post who did a little flick beyond the keeper to take the score to 6-1.  The final goal came from Theo R putting a deflection past the Preston keeper making the final score 7-1 to IOM. 

The boys all played well, with lovely touches and passing, showing real promise and attitude throughout the trip. The boys voted Jean V as their IOM Player of the Match. 

Thank you to Sam Franklin for umpiring.  

The first five minutes of the U18 Boys match showcased two strong sides, with some meaningful attacks and well set defensive units. However, as the weather got worse, IOM U18 Boys struggled to maintain their formation, leading to 2 slippery goals from Preston after the first 15 minutes.

Shortly after, the boys’ heads were held high as Kyle G made a dangerous dribble into the D, upgrading the attack to the first short corner of the game, which Douglas Q put away with a straight drag making it 2-1. IOM Boys picked up the standard again, keeping them in the game, until Preston put two well worked goals past us before the 30th minute. In the last play of the half, IOM U18s had another short corner and inspite of the Preston keeper making a good save, the ball was left at Douglas Q’s feet and he managed to put it away for his second goal of the game. 

As the rain got worse, both teams began to struggle, and Preston caught IOM on a quick counter attack within the first 5 minutes of the second half making the score 6-2 early on. With multiple attacks back and forth from both teams, Preston managed to put one last goal past IOM within the last ten minutes of the game. 

IOM U18 Boys worked well as a team to create another short corner in the last 5 minutes of the game, when Liam T got round two Preston players to put the ball in the back of the net to end the game at 7-3 to Preston. 

The team voted Will W Player of the Match, for good distribution working forwards out from the back, a goal line save and overall hard work and dedication.

Thank you to Gareth Roome for umpiring the match.

All teams now go into to the draw this week for the next round of fixtures on November 9th