The Isle of Man's Under-18 side were knocked out of the FA County Youth Cup by an "exceptional" Northumberland side at Durham on Sunday.

Kevin Manning's team were beaten 6-2 by a team he described as the best for the age he had ever played against.

"The lads gave it everything they had but Northumberland outclassed us in every department," he said.

Peel's Ryan Burns and Ramsey's Jonny Shields scored the island's goals after they went 3-0 down by half-time.

Last year the Manx team reached the semi-finals before losing at home to Kent on penalties.

Manning continued: "They came out flying and we were two down in the first 10 minutes.

"The second-half was much better for us but we were well beaten. It was a real lesson for us and one we will learn from."

Northumberland will meet Birmingham in the third round.

The Northumberland manager Ian Skinner said the Manx side met his team on a very good day.

"We fielded a very strong side which was full of pace. We knew we had to make a good start to unsettle the Isle of Man and the tempo we set was hard to match," he said.

"The Manx team never gave up and improved throughout the match. Birmingham were watching the game, so hopefully we will have given them something to think about."

Isle of Man FA chief executive Frank Stennett said: "The match was a steep learning curve for our players, but they should take a lot of heart from the second-half performance."

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