The 2011 Island Games: Isle of Man v Åland

The back of Cowes Sports' stand.

It's July 1st on the Isle of Wight - the last day of the Island Games. There are finals going on in various sports all over the island. Some competitors will be going home with nice new shiny medals to show their friends and family, whilst others will simply be leaving with tired limbs and a colourful plastic bucket full of memories.

The flag of Åland flutters in the breeze outside the ground.

There are six medals up for grabs in the two football competitions - bronzes in the third-place play-offs; golds and silvers in the finals. Greenland's women's team had already won their island's first-ever football medal by the time the women's final kicked off at midday - they would be flying back to Nuuk as national heroes after their 1-0 victory over the goal-shy Western Isles (six goalless games in seven attempts by their two teams).

And here's the Isle of Man flag inside the ground.

The two finalists were the two highest scorers in the women's competition: the Isle of Man (16 goals in three matches) and Åland (18 in four). The only other unbeaten team were the unlucky Isle of Wight, and they came along to heckle the Isle of Man.

A secret football pitch behind the covered standing area.

Other athletes in the stadium included the Isle of Man men's football team, who sat in the stand and cheered their women on in their Mark Cavendish-semi-Scouse-like accents. Also in attendance were a phalanx of Scandinavians, both from Åland and the Norwegian island of Hitra. They seemed to take the Isle of Man's fans' chanting as a challenge - anything they could do, the Scandinavian Barmy Army could do louder - much much louder - with their raucous Swedish/Norwegian tonsils and Natwest-sponsored whacking balloons (possibly coming to a stadium near you this coming season...you have been warned!). The official crowd was 185, but they were ten times louder than the ten-times bigger crowd at the men's final later on in the afternoon - think Fratton Park v the Highbury Library, and you get the picture.

Åland on the ball.

Not only was this the most vocal crowd of the week, but they were also treated to the best football that I saw. Åland's tiki-taki passing game on the bowling lawn of a pitch at Cowes was splendid to watch. The Isle of Man were good - they even took the lead after five minutes - but they were eventually outclassed by the brilliant Ålanders.

A tremendous save by the Åland keeper.

The short passing game of the Scandinavians bamboozled the Isle of Man, and they soon began to look tired (as well they might after the week's heavy schedule - most teams were playing four or five matches in six days - some with extra time). Åland were able to score almost at will, despite their opponent's best efforts.

"Give us an Å! Give us an L..." By far the noisiest crowd of the entire tournament.

The final whistle blew with the score at 5-1 to Åland, and I got the impression that they had throttled back in the second-half, after going in 4-1 to the good at half-time. They hugged and received their medals, and no doubt had a whale of a time at the closing ceremony in Cowes later that evening, where they could take their hairbands out, have a glass of wine or two and talk about the 23 goals they had scored this week.

We did it! Åland have won the gold medal!

Meanwhile, I took a bus to Newport, along with the Hitra football team, ready for the men's final at 3pm...

The 2011 Island Games: Greenland v Åland

Radio Greenland up on the roof.

Now, this is where my very unjournalistic lack of note-taking during the matches I go to comes back to bite me, like a gooey gummy bear who's lost its dentures (hang on, wrong simile...should have mentioned crocodiles or piranhas or something...). Four games in two days, twenty goals and sundry other incidents. With one game, I can remember most of the salient points, but four...hmmm.

Lining up for the anthems. Greenland...

Luckily, nobody reads this text anyway, so I could just wibble on about the periodic table or monster truck racing, or anything really. I know people just come here to look at the pictures, so think of the next four Island Games football reports as a photo diary, okay!

...and Åland.

The first of these photo diaries is of the women's semi-final between Greenland and Åland, played at East Cowes Victoria Athletic's ground on Thursday 30th June 2011.

Singing beneath the flag.

Åland had won their qualifying group with big wins over Jersey and Hitra (5-0 and 6-0 respectively), and a 1-1 draw with the Isle of Wight. According to overheard conversations, they play together as a semi-professional outfit in the Swedish women's football league.

The team photo before kick-off.

Greenland had controversially qualified as best runners-up, with a 3-1 defeat against the Isle of Man and a rip-roaring 8-0 thumping of Gibraltar earlier in the week. This had left them with the best goal difference of the three second-placed teams, but with a worse points-per-game ratio than the Isle of Wight. The organisers must have decided that goal difference was the most important of the two factors, and through they went, with the hosts contesting the 5th/6th play-off with Saaremaa.

The match gets under way.

It was obvious from the first whistle that Åland were the better team. But whether it was nerves or misfortune, or a mixture of the two, they just couldn't break through the stubborn Greenland defence. Greenland had a couple of chances, much to their fans' delight, but the Åland keeper didn't really have a save to make. Surprisingly, it was still 0-0 at half-time.

Watching from the bench.

I don't know if they have half-time rollickings on Baltic islands, but in the second half, Åland played as though there had been some tea cup throwing going on in the dressing room. They were 3-0 up within five minutes of the restart, and it was game over. Greenland's passing game disintegrated and they started thinking about the third-place play-off and a possible bronze medal.

A Greenland flag on display behind the goal.

Both sets of fans (around 15-20 for each side in an overall crowd of 100 or so) kept cheering, but everyone knew the result was inevitable.

Åland score their second penalty of the afternoon.

The ref awarded three penalties for various misdemeanours in the box - two for Åland and one for Greenland - all of which were converted. Greenland's penalty was what they call a consolation goal, as they were already 6-0 down by then.

Åland move forward in front of the East Cowes Vics stand.

Final score: 6-1 to Åland. The match had kicked off twenty minutes late, due to the Greenlanders simply enjoying the pre-match warm-up too much, from what I could see. The officials had asked them to return to the dressing room several times, but they either didn't understand the instructions, or ignored them. This made me later than I would have been for the next match in West Cowes, but it didn't bother me too much. Slack time-keeping is too rare in modern life, and should be cherished when the opportunity arises (or so I told myself as I sat on the chain ferry pondering this, that and various other). Thus, onwards to a men's semi-final...

The final whistle blows and Åland have won!

The 2011 Island Games: Western Isles v Åland

A proud supporter waves the Åland flag at the Newport FC Island Games bus stop.

I returned to the Isle of Wight on Monday to watch the match between Åland and the Western Isles, which took place at the island's largest football venue, St George's Park, in Newport. The weather was hot and dreary, with the occasional dollop of rain. The game itself wasn't particularly exciting - Åland were just a little sharper up front, otherwise the teams were evenly matched.

The Åland team pose for a group photo. It must be uncomfortable squatting like that for too long.

It was more interesting watching the other people in the crowd for a lot of the time. The Western Isles fans were on one side of the main stand; the Åland flag-wavers were in a small block to their right. There were between ten and twenty supporting each side, with the rest of the crowd of 152 being neutral. Nowhere near as noisy as the previous match I went to between Greenland and Rhodes, both off and on the pitch - both teams playing with a certain North European reserve.

This dog was being fed chips outside the snack bar.

The highlights on the pitch were the two second-half Åland goals, the second of which was an absolute cracker - a 40 yard lob over the goalie's head into the top corner. Very Matthew Taylor-esque in its execution (or for the Saints fans amongst you, Matthew Le Tissier-esque - that good!). The Scotsmen huffed and puffed, but were unable to break through at all. I would say that they weren't going to score in a month of Sundays, but as they don't play on Sundays due to their religious beliefs, that will always be the case! 0-2 meant that they were the first team to be knocked out of the tournament.

The second-largest football stand on the Isle of Wight.

I spent some time wondering where Åland is (I hadn't checked before I set off). I knew that it's in the Baltic, but I didn't know to which nation they belong, or what language they speak (Finland and Swedish being the answers!). The other thing that bothered me as I ate my half-time banana was the name of the little 'o' that resides on the top of the capital A in Åland (I still don't know!). I know a circumflex is a little pointy hat for French vowels; an umlaut is the double-dot of choice for heavy metallers the world over; and I know which way the acute and grave accents point in French. But the little 'o'? It's so Scandinavian and mysterious. I like it.

Keeper's ball! Another Western Isles attack comes to nothing.

I also wondered about the beautiful sandy beaches on Barra and Benbecula on the Western Isles. I wondered if anybody ever goes there to sunbathe; I wondered if the beaches were covered in smelly seaweed; I wondered if the sand was full of sandhoppers. I'd like to visit the beaches of Barra and Benbecula one day and find out for myself.

A fair challenge sees the Western Isles gallop forward.

I might see Åland again later in the week, as I hope to go back and watch some more matches on Thursday and Friday. After today's results, it appears that they have finished dead level with Saaremaa at the top of their group, after the Estonian island also beat the Scotsmen 2-0. Whether they will draw lots, or have a penalty shootout, or have a fishing competition on the Medina to decide the group winner remains to be seen.

Your number is falling off, sir!

I don't know who I shall see yet, but there will be further match reports and photos later in the week.

The official Team Åland water bottle.