The Isle of Man men’s hockey second team travelled to England to face Scarborough firsts in the quarter-finals of the England Hockey Championships Men’s Tier Three Plate on Sunday.

The two teams were closely matched early on as the IoM edge possession but Scarborough were well organised and defended in numbers.

As the first half wore on, the Isle of Man began to unlock the Scarborough defence and create chances, but the goalkeeper was equal to the test with a string of good saves.

Then, with 25 minutes played, the hosts counter-attacked and a well-taken finish gave them a 1-0 lead against the run of play.

But the Manx side quickly responded with a penalty corner goal as Josh Dougal’s drag flick found the bottom left-hand corner, making it 1-1 just before half-time.

The second half saw the IoM start strongly, but a yellow card for Alex Kneale threatened to change the momentum.

Despite the setback, they were able to maintain their pressure and went a goal ahead while down to 10 players, with Ben Dougal converting after neat work by twin brother Josh.

The second goal seemed to knock the fight out of the youthful Scarborough side and what had been a well-structured defence began making mistakes.

George Powell soon added another in the 53rd minute, before Tom Tsitsos scored in the 58th minute and Josh Dougal netted again two minutes later.

Ben Dougal sealed the victory with his second goal of the match in the 65th minute as the Isle of Man ran out deserved 6-1 winners.

While difficult to single out individual displays in a game where teamwork and link-up play was key, Tom Lothian was named man of the match for his defensive midfield work, making a number of key tackles and interceptions.

Powell put in a noteworthy second-half performance, providing two assists alongside his goal.

The IoM now advance to the semi-finals due to be played on April 6.

NEIL CROWE