Isle of Man FA national men’s team caretaker manager Chris Bass Jr got off to a winning start on Saturday, beating Halewood Apollo FC 4-3 at Liverpool County FA Ground in Sefton.

The Merseyside club were last year’s Liverpool County Premier League champions and this proved to be a good test for the Manx side, the hosts having two efforts off target early on.

The Isle of Man soon began to settle and thought they had taken the lead following a corner but Sean Doyle’s header was saved. Sammy Gelling and Karl Clark also went close, sending efforts over the crossbar.

On 26 minutes though, it was the hosts who took the lead when Curtis Dogun’s in-swinging free-kick took the deftest of touches before going into the net.

Doyle thought he’d equalised when heading home Harry Best’s free-kick but his effort was ruled out for offside.

Despite that, the striker made sure on 39 minutes. Daniel Pickering embarked on a run along the right before passing inside to Doyle who, with the back to goal, swivelled 180 degrees and tucked his effort into the bottom right to score the first goal under the new regime.

The lead only lasted a minute though. Halewood countered straight from the kick-off which led to the Isle of Man conceding a free-kick around 20 yards out. Dogun again make sure with the set-piece, directing it into the top right for a quality finish.

After the break the introduction of several substitutes resulted in a great response from the Manx side who soon equalised for a second time. Connor Clark showed some good work along the left before cutting inside and, although his shot was parried, Doyle stroked home the rebound.

On 55 minutes the Isle of Man took the lead for the first time when Nathan Little floated in a free-kick and Jamie Callister headed across goal and into the net for his first goal for the island.

The islanders had chances to extend their lead, with Frank Jones having two goals ruled out before he and Gelling were both thwarted in one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper.

Halewood’s only real opportunity in the second half came on 79 minutes from which they equalised. A move along the left resulted in Adam Morgan driving a low short across goal and into the bottom corner.

But the Manx side showed great determination again, resulting in the winning goal on 85 minutes when Doyle slipped a perfectly-weighted pass for Connor Clark to dink over the goalkeeper and into the net, scoring on his senior island debut.

It is hoped that this could be an annual event, with the Isle of Man playing the Liverpool County Premier League champions going forward.

The match was part of the Isle of Man team’s preparations for this summer’s Island Games which take place in Orkney between July 12-18.

Isle of Man squad: Mark Blair, Karl Clark, Harry Best, Jamie Callister, Stewart Smith, Dan Pickering, Joao Marques, Frank Jones, Sean Doyle, Sam Gelling, Connor Clark

Subs used: Cameron Torr, Nathan Little, Matty Woods, Jay Gandy.

PAUL HATTON