Isle Of Man: Railway Cup — Terrace Edition

Words: Joey Corlett

Images: Joey Corlett

With the festive season in full swing, there is nothing more traditional than Boxing Day football. And for me, heading home to the Isle of Man, it’s no different.

Instead of watching the heights of the English Premier League battle it out on TV, I had something different in mind. One of the oldest cup competitions in Europe was saved on my fixtures on Futbology.

The Isle of Man Railway Cup has been running since 1906, after being donated by the Isle of Man Railway Company.

The first ever final was settled in a beautifully parochial manner, being awarded to Gymnasium after Ramsey, who played on a Thursday, had opposed a contest on a Saturday.

Gymnasium would also win the second edition on the pitch in 1906, beating Castletown 1-0 with a replay after a 2-2 draw.

©Joey Corlett/ Terrace Edition. Corinthians AFC vs Peel AFC.

Since then, the competition has only been paused for both World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tournament is fought out by the top four sides of the Isle of Man Premier League at the halfway point of the season.

Corinthians beat Onchan, and Peel got past Laxey to set up the 2025 Boxing Day final.

This match-up saw Peel, who have won this competition the most in its history, make it three finals in a row.

But there was a recent winless run to contend with in the final, having been runners up to Corinthians in 22/23 & Ayre United in 23/24.

There is no love lost between Peel and Corinthians , who currently occupy the top two spots in the league.

Having played for Corinthians growing up, I can’t pretend I wasn’t biased in who I wanted to see win the cup.

The Island’s premier stadium, called The Bowl, would stage the match, jokingly referred to as ‘The BernaBowl’ locally.

Thankfully, we were all rewarded with some lovely winter sunlight to help make those cold temperatures just that more bearable.

The local Pulrose power station loomed over the pitch with the rolling hills of The Howe further in the background, providing the scenic backdrop for this occasion.

The game got underway with the smell of much needed teas and coffees in the air to keep myself and everyone else toasty.

Only five minutes were needed for the opener as Corinthians’ Sean Doyle looped the ball up and over the Peel keeper from outside the box.

Just the start the Whites were after.

A couple of the players seemed to be playing on the back of a heavy Christmas Day, but the scrappy end-to-end nature of the game kept it entertaining.

Peel’s captain, Lee Gale, equalised with a stunning free-kick just before half time as they came back into the game.

Despite Peel making the better start to the second half with various good chances to take the lead, it would be Corinthians that managed to bundle the ball home from a long throw in the 73rd minute, leaving Josh Ridings to wheel away in celebration.

It set up a nervy last 15 mins as the red and white side pushed to equalize but couldn’t find a way through the stubborn Corinthians defense, seeing out the result to claim the fourth Railway Cup in their history.

It was time for families and friends on the pitch as the medals were handed out and the grand trophy was hoisted aloft.

With beaming smiles, popping champagne, and the cheers of ‘Champione, champione, ole, ole, ole!’ ringing around the pitch, it was certainly a fantastic way to uphold those Boxing Day traditions with a storied local cup competition.

©Joey Corlett/ Terrace Edition. Corinthians AFC trophy lift

©Joey Corlett/ Terrace Edition. Corinthians AFC team photo.

©Joey Corlett/ Terrace Edition. Railway Trophy.

Joey is on X and Instagram: @joeycorlett. He’s also on Bluesky: @joeycorlett.bsky.social.

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