Hockey: Mixed results for IoM at county championships

Manx men's team finishes seventh in Nottingham

The Isle of Man men's national hockey team picked up three victories on their way to finishing seventh during this year's England Hockey County Championships last weekend.

At the tournament held at Nottingham Hockey Centre on Saturday, 9 May and Sunday, 10 May, the Isle of Man got off to a flying start with back-to-back wins over Shropshire and the UK Armed Forces.

Andy Whiting, Ben Dougal and Shae Christiansen were on target in the win over Shropshire whilst Whiting and Elliot Reid both bagged goals in the success over the UK Armed Forces

The third and final match of day one saw them fall to a narrow 2-1 defeat up against Yorkshire with Reid the only goalscorer for the Manx side during the contest - as a result, the Isle of Man ended Saturday sitting second in the Group A standings.

Their first test of Sunday was their final group game up against hosts, Nottinghamshire who went on to claim a 2-0 victory over the Islanders.

As a result, the Isle of Man went into the next part of the day having qualified for the 7th/8th-place play-off, in which they'd take on Derbyshire.

The Isle of Man would finish the tournament on a high with a 3-0 win over their final opponents at the event, courtesy of another Whiting double as well as a strike from captain, Jamie Brown.