FC Isle of Man in search of Christmas cheer against Colne

Ravens out to end run of three straight defeats

FC Isle of Man will be hoping to head into Christmas on a high when they face Colne in the NWCFL Premier Division at The Bowl tonight (22 December).

The Ravens have slipped down into mid-table in recent weeks after a run of three straight home defeats in their last three games.

Their manager, Paul Jones admits he and his squad have found their latest results 'frustrating'.

However he says his players are channeling those feelings in the right way in their quest for a better result this evening:

Consecutive losses on home turf against Cheadle Town, Squires Gate and Barnoldswick Town means the Island side reside 12th in the division on 33 points going into this weekend.

Victory tonight could see them go back up as high as eighth depending on results around them over the next few days.

Whilst their defensive record remains one of the strongest in the NWCFL top flight, finding goals at the other end has proven a sticking point towards the end of the year.

FC Isle of Man have netted just three times in their last five matches, compared to ten in the five games prior to that.

Meanwhile, they'll welcome a Colne side who come to Manx shores as one of the in-form teams in the division over the last six matches.

They've managed three wins, two draws and one loss during that period - their goal tally of 19 in the last six is the highest in the league over that time.

The Oldham-based side now reside eighth in the standings, two points ahead of FC Isle of Man and having played one game more.

FC Isle of Man vs Colne takes place at The Bowl this evening, kicking-off at 7.30pm.

Manx Radio will be providing full live match commentary on our DAB and AM1368 channels.

FC Isle of Man team news

There are four changes to the Ravens squad which suffered narrow defeat at the hands of Barnoldswick Town 13 days ago.

The faces coming in are Blake Henwood, Jack Higgins, Phil Kelly and Furo Davies.

Jamie Corlett, Charlie Higgins, Eoghain Sherrard and Dan Simpson drop out.

FC Isle of Man squad vs Colne

Ben Wilkinson (GK), Jacob Crook, Furo Davies, Sean Doyle, Tiernan Garvey, Danny Gerrard, Blake Henwood, Jack Higgins, Frank Jones, Phil Kelly, Alex Maitland, Dean Pinnington, Callum Sherry, Kyle Watson, Michael Williams, Ste Whitley