The island under-18 girls hockey team was victorious in its third round match in the EH Girls U18 Tier Two Plate Championships at the weekend.

Unfortunately, the under-14 boys side bowed out of the competition following a hard-fought defeat to Chester

The under-18 girls were drawn against Brookland Manchester who, as expected, proved to be very strong opposition.

Brooklands started the stronger side, pressing high and leading attacks into the Isle of Man ‘D’.

But the island defence of Emily Kirkham and Kate Lace stood firm and the Manx side slowly gained momentum.

The attacking trio of Molly Wheeler, Sofia Cosgrave and Hannah Nuttall used their speed and led wide attacks, with Cosgrave unlucky not to put the island ahead with a powerful shot which sailed just wide of the mark.

Brooklands launched another attack of their own, winning a corner.

This led to the first of many great saves from Isle of Man goalkeeper Robyn Stones, but it took a lucky bounce for Brooklands and they went 1-0 up going into half-time.

The IoM came out fighting against the Manchester side right from the restart and a powerful effort from Olivia Quayle drew them level.

The pace was relentless in the second half, with player of the match Ruby McCubbin together with the midfield partners of Macey Crellin, Hannah Ashton Foster and Evie Watterson spearheading attacks.

Elena Caley, dropping back into the full back line in the second half, produced some outstanding tackles and together with Stones’ expert goalkeeping, the islanders kept Brooklands at bay to end the match 1-1.

Shuffles ensued, with Stones continuing her great form and the Isle of Man took the win 4-3 thanks to scores from Crellin, Watterson, Lace and Lucy Cartwright.

DEBBIE SHIMMIN