It was a big weekend for the Isle of Man Junior hockey squads with 5 out of the 6 teams away competing in the England Hockey Junior Championships. Steampacket schedule changes meant very late arrivals and early starts for the squads but all the players stepped up and whilst it was mixed fortunes for the teams, they each rose to the occasion and produced some excellent hockey.
The under 14 boys started the weekend off with a late afternoon pushback on Saturday at Sandbach. The long journey did not impact on this talented team and a very pleasing 6/1 victory was just rewards for their commitments and efforts at training over the last number of months. The under 14 girls like the boys are a talented committed side and have come together very nicely over the last two seasons. An excellent display by them saw a 4/2 win over Deeside.
The luck was not with either of the under 16 teams in their fixtures. Both teams faced tough opponents with impressive records in the competitions, Preston for the girls and Timperely for the boys. A well fought 3/3 draw for the boys resulted in penalty shuffles at full time and the boys were narrowly defeated 2/3 . The girls were involved in end to end match with both teams producing some excellent displays of skill-full hockey. The Manx side came agonisingly on close on two occasions together with a very harsh short corner decision saw them on the wrong side of a 2/5 defeat. Both teams progress to the plate competitions in January.
The final team in action was the Under 18 boys who faced title holders Chester . This is a small squad and together with injury issues it was always going to to be very tough to progress to the next round. Despite a fantastic effort by the boys, it was not to be and they exited the championship 1/6. This sees the end of the Junior Championship journey for a number of the players who have been involved in the squad set up for over 6 years. 10 of the players that lined out against Chester were in the under 14 squad 5 years ago, a very pleasing statistic evidencing fantastic participation levels and keeping young people involved in sport.
IOM U14 Boys v Sandbach U14 Boys
There was a very early start for the Under 14 boys’ team on Saturday as they made the long journey down to Sandbach for a late afternoon pushback. Whilst the boys stared with some great possession, they lacked a sense of urgency and took time to settle. After a spell of pressure on the Sandbach goal, the boys were awarded a short comer which Ryan Cartwright converted. From then on the boys began to grow in confidence and Harri Lewis added a second goal just before half time.
The boys stepped it up in the second half and Chris Crompton Heavey, fired home two shots to make it 4/0. Sandbach replied with a goal but the Isle of Man defensive duo of Jasper Whalley and Carter Kneale held tight. Ryan Cartwright and Theo Robertson added to the Isle of Man tally to put the game beyond reach for Sandbach with a final score 6-1 IOM .
A good all round performance by the team as shown by Player of the Match being jointly awarded to Chris Crompton Heavey and Carter Kneale. The team now progresses to Round 3.
IOM 14 Girls v Deeside Ramblers U14 Girls
A very late night and early start meant it was a while before the girls found their rhythm,and despite considerable pressure from IOM, Deeside scored a break away goal. Unfortunately a similar situation occurred for a 2nd Deeside goal.
After searching run by Rhea Maher in the D, IOM was awarded with a penalty flick which was unfortunately missed but a short corner in the last seconds of the half saw a goal ably put away by Rhea, pulling the socre to 1-2.
U14 girls came out stronger in the 2nd half and very determined to get back into the game. Lovely work by Scarlett Crompton Heavy saw a great finish to level it at 2 – 2. The dominance continued and two late goals by Rhea gave a resounding win 4 – 2 for the team.
A brilliant team performance with outstanding performances across the whole pitch. Eve Martin was voted player of the match by the opposition for her tireless runs up the right. Coaches player was too hard to pick as the whole team was amazing.
IOM U16 Girls 2-5 Preston U16 Girls
After a late night and early start, the U16 girls travelled to Preston for their first Champs fixture against a strong, well-drilled side.
IOM began brightly, dominating possession and creating chances before Preston struck on the counter to make it 1-0 against the run of play. The girls responded well, and a quick move from defence found Lucy Ballard, who weaved through midfield and set up Sophie Partington to level the score. A disallowed short-corner goal halted IOM’s momentum, and Preston capitalised with two more goals to lead 3-1 at half-time.
IOM came out fighting after the break, and pressure paid off when Faith Watterson, Anna Wilson and Amira Crookall combined for a well-taken goal to make it 3-2. Chasing an equaliser, the girls left gaps at the back, allowing Preston to score twice more despite many excellent saves from keeper Summer Ritchie.
POTM as voted for by the team was joint between CF Lucy Ballard and GK Summer Ritchie, both had great games, influencing the game at both ends of the pitch.
The match ended 5-2, but the team can take plenty of positives into their next fixture in the new year.
IOM U16 Boys 3–3 Timperley U16 Boys (Isle of Man lost 2–3 on shuffles)
The Isle of Man Under 16 Boys produced a spirited performance in an entertaining 3–3 draw against Timperley, only to suffer a narrow 2–3 defeat in penalty shuffles.
The home side started brightly, taking the lead through Henry Stewart, who capped off his energetic display across four positions with a powerful strike from the right. Timperley hit back to level, but the Isle of Man regained control when Cal Joyce was well placed to tuck home their second. Confidence was flowing, and Oli Christian extended the advantage to 3–1 with a composed finish from close range.
Timperley, however, showed their pedigree with two late goals to force the contest into shuffles. In the deciding shootout, Caleb Blakemore and Lucas Adams converted their efforts for the Isle of Man, while goalkeeper Ethan Quirk made two fine saves to keep his side in contention. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough as Timperley edged the contest 3–2 in the tiebreak.
Despite the disappointment, there were plenty of positives for the Isle of Man to take. Blakemore was voted Man of the Match by his teammates for his composure and determination, while Stewart’s tireless display and Jansen Montalban’s solid defending at right back also stood out.
The result sees the team move into the EH Plate competition, with the next round scheduled for January. Encouragingly, this performance showed clear progress from their pre-season fixture and highlighted the promise within this developing side.
The Manx Hockey Association and all involved with the IOM Junior squads thank Oak Group for their continued support.