Barnoldswick Town hand Ravens third straight loss

Frustrated FC Isle of Man resigned to narrow defeat

FC Isle of Man have endured more frustration on home soil this evening (9 December) as they sank to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Barnoldswick Town in the NWCFL Premier Division.

The visitors got the first and only goal on 16 minutes through Andrew Hill's slick strike from a corner with the goal standing after being initially disallowed.

The Manx side pushed and probed late on but were denied by a number of sensational stops by Barnoldswick Town goalkeeper, Callum Jakovlevs.

The result sees Barnoldswick Town leapfrog FC Isle of Man into eighth in the table whilst also inflicting the Island outfit's third consecutive home loss.

In wet and windy conditions at The Bowl, FC Isle of Man were hoping to right the wrongs of back-to-back losses in their last two outings up against a free-scoring Barnoldswick Town who could go above their hosts with a win.

The first chance went the way of FC Isle of Man on ten minutes when a Dan Simpson corner from the left was met by Sean Doyle six yards out, but his header was cleared off the goal line by Barnoldswick Town's Ben Ashton.

Just six minutes after, the visitors made the breakthrough from a set piece of their own.

Ashton whipped a quick low corner from the right to the edge of the FC Isle of Man box where Barnoldswick Town captain, Andrew Hill swept a low strike into the bottom corner.

At first, the goal was chalked off for an offside - but that decision was overturned moments later by referee Peter Fuller following consultation with the linesman to hand 'Barlick' the lead.

The following minutes passed with Barnoldswick Town remaining disciplined and hard to break down.

FC Isle of Man's final clear chance of the half came when a Jacob Crook cross from the right in the 43rd minute was met by Frank Jones twelve yards out, but his powerful header was beating away by Jakovlevs.

With a point to prove after the break, FC Isle of Man emerged the brighter in the second half but ultimately continued to struggle for product in the final third against a resilient Barnoldswick Town.

The two major chances for the home side came in second-half stoppage time.

Firstly on 94 minutes a floated ball from the left flank found Doyle six yards out whose low header to the bottom corner was stopped by the sharp reactions of Jakovlevs down to his right.

Moments after with 96 minutes played, the visiting goalkeeper produced some heroics again - first denying Dean Pinnington's deflected 30-yard drive with his legs followed by a diving stop across to his left to keep out Doyle's follow-up from close range.

The result sees FC Isle of Man drop to tenth in the NWCFL Premier Division standings - their next match is at home against Ramsbottom United on Saturday, 16 December, kicking-off at 6pm.

Man of the Match: Andrew Hill (Barnoldswick Town)