NO-ONE really knew what to expect last Sunday when Yorkshire made their 'international' bow against Ellan Vannin (Isle of Man) at Hemsworth Miners' Welfare.

Ed Hall had not even attended the white-rose team's official trial day at the same venue in December, while a get-together the previous week to go through some moves was cut to half an hour by the wintry weather.

The 25-year-old Bradford Park Avenue keeper only picked up his kit on the day of the match – but it turned out to be one of the most fulfilling experiences of his career.

Former Silsden, Brighouse Town and Thackley player Hall said: "It was a brilliant atmosphere in the ground and a brilliant atmosphere among the Yorkshire players.

"I was tipped off about Yorkshire about four weeks ago by text from goalkeeping coach Neil Bennett.

"I only knew coach Ryan Farrell from when I played at Thackley and Thackley skipper Paddy McGuire. Yet we just gelled straight away as a team and it was one of the best days of my life."

The crowd of 627 certainly did their bit in the 1-1 draw against the Confederation of Independent Football Associations' fourth-ranked nation – as did Hall, who was named man of the match.

The stopper, who has also played for Nostell Miners' Welfare's first team and Guiseley Reserves, explained that the only thing that went wrong was the playing of the anthems beforehand.

"There should have been Ilkley Moor Baht 'At and the Isle of Man anthem but the equipment was faulty," he said.

Hall, who admitted it was easier to get permission to play from Avenue because he is a non-contracted player, was soon in the action after the kick-off.

"There was a shot from 25 yards which swerved at the last minute and I managed to tip it round the post, which was my best save, and then there were about half a dozen good saves in the second half," he said.

"A few people tweeted that I was their man of the match afterwards, which was nice, but I didn't know officially until the middle of the week.

"However, I wasn't expecting to play for 90 minutes as we had a young keeper from Brighouse Town (George Clarke) on the bench and I was expecting him to come on with about 20 minutes to go."

Hall admitted that the Yorkshire International Football Association's (YIFA) admittance as an international team outside of FIFA could have fallen flat on its face and they might never have been heard of again.

Yet the reverse seems to be true and the keeper said: "It was good for me to get 90 minutes under my belt as a No 2 – something that was recognised by Avenue manager Mark Bower – as matches for me can be few and far between.

"Yorkshire were next due to play a game against a Scottish county but that has fallen through.

"However, we have a fixture planned for March 4, again at Hemsworth, against as yet unnamed opponents and all of the lads are really excited at the prospect of a game in Prague in the summer."