Two players fly the flag for Division Two in the latest instalment of Isle of Man Newspapers’ Team of the Week.
The duo in question are Douglas and District’s Will Gavin and Colby’s Aiden Hawker who shone in last Saturday’s ECAP FA Cup matches.
Gavin did his best to keep Douglas Royal at bay with a number of impressive saves against the Premier League outfit and therefore dons the TotW goalkeeper’s jersey.
Hawker enjoyed an impressive game at right-back for Colby against Governor’s Athletic, pushing forward and helping the Moonlighters edge the contest 2-1 in the Station Fields derby.
As such, he takes his place in a four-man defence alongside Joel Ibanez of St George’s, Rushen’s Scott Mason and Stewart Smith of Corinthians.
The latter skippered the Whites and made a number of important challenges during a competitive contest as the Ballafletcher side edged past Ramsey by the odd goal in seven at Ballacloan.
This while Ibanez was in tune as he delivered a highly impressive performance at the back on his return from America to help Geordies brush aside Gymns 6-0 at Glencrutchery Road.
Mason made it back-to-back TotW appearances after enjoying another fine game in defence for Rushen, playing a key role in keeping the Ayre United attack quiet during the Spaniards’ 1-3 success in Andreas.
Another player to catch the eye of Eric Clague’s ratings panel in the latter match was Mason’s team-mate Ste Riding who was the standout performer in the centre of the park and duly takes his place in a three-man midfield.
Joining him is Laxey’s Will Cowin and Peel’s Jacob Robertshaw. The latter excelled for the second week in succession with an early goal during his side’s hard-fought extra-time victory over DHSOB at Blackberry Lane.
Cowin played a key role in midfield during a highly competitive contest against Marown at Glen Road, grabbing the only goal of the game as the Miners progressed to the next round with a 1-0 win.
Adam Mealin (Marown) and Robbie Ward (DHSOB) only just missed out on a place in Team of the Week after also performing well last Saturday.
The three-man Team of the Week attack comprises Harry Rothwell of St John’s, St George’s veteran Ciaran McNulty and Douglas Royal’s Jamie Agnew.
The latter was the standout performer in attack for the Whites and netted one of his side#s goals as they saw off the challenge of Douglas and District.
Rothwell and McNulty were both in scintillating form at the weekend, each helping themselves to hat-tricks in their respective games. Rothwell starred for St John’s with a well-taken treble, while McNulty - the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer - was back to his scoring best as he helped Geordies put Gymns to the sword.
Claiming the latest referee of the week honours - and not for the first time - is Stuart Kneen who enjoyed an excellent game at Mullen-e-Cloie between St John’s v Onchan.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Goalkeeper
Will Gavin (D&D)
Defence
Aiden Hawker (Colby)
Scott Mason (Rushen)
Joel Ibanez (St George’s)
Midfield
Will Cowin (Laxey)
Stephen Riding (Rushen)
Jacob Robertshaw (Peel)
Attack
Harry Rothwell (St John’s)
Ciaran McNulty (St George’s)
Jamie Agnew (D. Royal)
Referee
Stuart Kneen (St John’s v Onchan)