Oak is a proud sponsor of the Isle of Man Junior Hockey Squad, where four out of six teams travelled to the Northwest late October to start their English Championship campaigns.
The U14 boys headed to the Wirral to face Oxton, a highly respected club with a good track record at junior level. The team did not shy away from the challenge and were rewarded with numerous corners and two well taken goals. Midfielder Caleb Blakemore did a sterling job keeping an exceptional Oxton player at bay and was rewarded with Player of the match. The team now moves to the plate completion which will provide further experience for his young developing team.
The U14 girls travelled to Lytham St Annes, new territory for any IOM team. The girls were nervous to start and went a goal down in the first 5 mins. They however came back straight at Lytham and were relentless in their pressure. They were duly rewarded with no fewer than 13 goals, with Isla Caine and Sophie Partington heading up the score sheet with 7 goals between them.
The U16 boys were up against the current title holders, Timperley. They were well aware of the pressure that was on them, and this was evident as they went a goal down in the early stages. Timperley did not let up and the match was end to end. The IOM, after a period of great pressure, slotted home an equalizer to head into half time at 1-1. Almost straight after the restart, a penalty flick was taken expertly by Joe and this opened the floodgates for the IOM team. The team went on the rampage scoring a further 8 more goals in what an impressive display by this well drilled and talented team was. Cam added a hat trick with braces from Joe, Leo and Doug.
The final game of the day was the U16 girls who pushed back against Chester at Abbeygate. A long tradition of matches between the IOM and Chester HC, all extremely close affairs and well fought. The girls were eager to take the match to Chester and Penny did just that shooting home a great effort halfway through the first half. The second half was a highly contested affair with chances for both teams, the only difference being that the IOM converted theirs with another finely taken effort this time by Sofia Cosgrave.
Congratulations to all that competed, and we wish the best of luck to the teams in their upcoming matches. We eagerly await the results of the Championships!
