League Week 2 Report by Mark Kneen

The Onchan A express got their title challenge firmly back on track at the top of Isle of Man Bank Men’s League Division One last Monday as they steamed to an 8-2 victory over Douglas A, derailing the visitor’s hopes of an upset in the process.

In theory this sounds like a one sided affair however the reality on the night was very different and with only 7 points separating 8 games this is the closest 8-2 I have ever witnessed. If all of Douglas’ players had scored one more point or conceded one less they would have left with a 5-5 draw, as they would have turned around a 21-20 defeat and taken the two aggregate points.

After such a valiant attempt away at the champion’s lair many would say that the men from the Villa deserved more. In sport, however, you don’t get what you deserve, you don’t get what you are given, you get what you take and the champions took their chances and in more than one game on the night grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat.

This close encounter leaves me with two enduring proofs. Firstly, Douglas proved that their new line up is a match for anybody, home or away, and that their challenge for honours must be taken seriously. Secondly, and more poignantly, Onchan proved why they are perennial Champions and that if anybody wants to challenge them they will do so the hard way, with a fight on their hands.

Marown A bounced back from last week’s defeat with a crushing 10-0 defeat of Peel A at the memorial playing fields. Peel had to postpone their first match due to snow on their green and made their return to the top tier the hard way, missing out on their first opportunity to put points on the board.

What Marown’s maximum did show is that it is not necessarily how you perform against the top teams but how big you win against the lower ranked teams which might determine the fate of the championship, as they moved to the top of the table. I think the boys from Crosby will definitely be there again in the shake-up come September, and if they can continue to rack up the big wins who knows how close they can get to Onchan?

All eyes were on a rejuvenated South Ramsey A who made their first appearance of the season and a 7-3 over Castletown B win has set them up nicely. They didn’t have things their own way however and Town pushed them all the way picking up another important 3 points. The focus will shift to the Villa Marina tonight (Monday) as the boys from South line up against Douglas with the result of this match possibly going someway to setting the tone for the rest of the season for these sides.

In the other top flight match up North Ramsey A produced some good performances to notch up their first win of the season beating Nobles Mixed 7-3. The men from Mixed have had a tough start to the season and will be looking to get some momentum going tonight as they host Ballaugh A.
Castletown C & D kept up their respective charges for glory at the top of division 2 both picking up 7-3 victories to maintain momentum after a strong start to the season by both sides. No club has ever had 3 teams in the top division and whilst I expect the D to flounder a little as the season progresses I think the C can go all the way and etch their club into the history books.

Douglas B notched up their first win of the season with a 7-3 victory over rivals Onchan whilst elsewhere Finch Hill B got the better of Peel C 7-3 in what could already be a battle for survival, even only two games into the season. Porst St Mary B overturned a 3-1 deficit to run out 7-3 winners at home to Ballaugh B whilst in the final game of the division much fancied Port Erin A won the local derby downing Port St Mary C 8-2.

The highlight of the third division this week has to be Port Erin B’s 10-0 defeat of Ballaugh C. Douglas C and Onchan C made it two wins out of two both claiming good 7-3 victories up north at South Ramsey and North Ramsey respectively. I think all of the teams in this division are capable of surprise results meaning that at this early stage things are far too close to call.

League Week 1 Report by Mark Kneen

The bell rang for the start of Isle of Man Bank men’s division one with a gladiatorial like contest between rising contenders Douglas A and former champions Marown A at the Villa Marina last week. On paper the outcome looked too close to call with both protagonists evenly matched.

Douglas did all the work in the early rounds and after some strong performances led 3-1 one at the half way point. The second half however was a different story with the seasoned war horses from Crosby throwing all they had at their adversaries to gain the upper hand and move into a slender 4-3 lead on games.

This left the final bout on the green to decide the outcome of this epic encounter. Peoples champion Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly led Mike Cain 18-11, needing to ensure his opponent scored less than 17 to secure the win on aggregate for the home side. Cain showed the steely grit and determination of a battle hardened veteran closing the deficit to 15-18 and, with jack in hand, look like he would steal the points for the visitors. Kelly however had other ideas, showing that he has not only an iron will but an iron arm, delivering the knockout blow with a 21-15 win completing a hard fought 6-4 victory for Douglas.

Reigning champions Onchan A started their title defence with what looked like a routine high scoring victory away at Castletown B. Nobody, however, told the homes side this and the boys from the crofts put in some gargantuan performances pushing the favourites all the way. Town played magnificently to pick up 4 wins on the night, drawing on games and narrowly losing out on the aggregate points to go down fighting 4-6.

With Castletown B tipped by many for relegation, performances like this will go some way to proving their doubters wrong. Not many teams have picked up 4 wins against this stellar Onchan line-up so I cannot overstate how impressive this result is, and how vital these 4 points may be at the end of the season.

Onchan will be a wounded animal and ready to prove why they are once again odds on favourites for the league as they entertain Douglas A at the park tonight (Monday). I think Douglas will be a good test for the Champions but on their home pitch you have to fancy them to pick up the win.

Elsewhere in the division highly fancied Castletown A avoided a potential banana skin coming back from 3-0 down at Nobles Mixed to complete a strong 7-3 victory and get their 2013 campaign off the a strong start. Ports St Mary A weathered the close season storm and came out of the blocks strongly with a solid 7-3 home win over North Ramsey A.

Casteltown D are the surprise leaders at the top of Division 2 after an excellent 8-2 win over Peel C. Town as a club have strengthened in depth this year and this is evident across all of their teams as hot on their heels are Town C after a strong 7-3 home win over newly promoted Douglas B.

My love affair with division 3 continued as I had the pleasure of watching newly formed teams Douglas C and Peel D slug it out at the Villa. There is something magical about this division for me and to see a mix of Peel’s old guard continuing to play into their twilight years and some of the new boys from Douglas was a joy to behold.

The match had all the tension and drama of the previous night’s division 1 thriller and after some strong performances from both sides , noteably Mike Ashmole (Peel) & Clive McGreal (Douglas), was again finally poised with the aggregate points hanging in the balance. Ted Cain of Peel led 19-7 and needed to prevent debutant Thomas Keggen from getting to 9 to grab victory for his team, but Keggen dug deep and in only his first match managed to battle hard going down 21-9 ensuring his sides first ever league campaign started with a 6-4 win by the narrowest of margins winning 109-108 on points.

North Ramsey B are another new team in this division and again started excellently picking up a 6-4 win on their trip to Nobles Park B. I wish all the new teams well and this week’s action in all divisions has only wet my appetite for a fantastic season ahead.