Abbey Hey strike late to deny FC Isle of Man victory

Ravens captain also sees red in late drama

A Christopher Rogers strike deep into second-half stoppage time saw FC Isle of Man denied victory in a 2-2 draw against Abbey Hey in the NWCFL Premier Division this evening (28 February).

Jacob Crook's one-on-one finish put the Manx side ahead on 24 minutes before a clever finish from Dillon Edmundson saw Abbey Hey level three minutes later.

Shaun Kelly's close-range effort had 'The Ravens' ahead again on 66 minutes before Rogers lashed home after a goalmouth scramble at the other end in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time to claim a vital point for the visitors.

The ensuing chaos late on also saw FC Isle of Man captain, Alex Maitland sent off after FC Isle of Man protests following the late Abbey Hey leveler.

Chasing a fourth match unbeaten and looking for a third straight win tonight, FC Isle of Man took on an Abbey Hey outfit which started the weekend just six points above the relegation zone.

After a quiet and cagey first 20 minutes at The Bowl, FC Isle of Man broke the deadlock on 24 minutes when a long Joao Marques cross from his own half over the Abbey Hey defence found Crook who strode in on goal and calmly placed an effort into the bottom corner past Abbey Hey goalkeeper, Connor Beard.

But the lead didn't last long as three minutes after that, the away side were back on equal terms when Jamal Crawford cut in from the left flank and delivered an inch-perfect through ball into Edmundson who poked a low strike under FC Isle of Man stopper, Adam Killey to find the net.

Into the second half and both sides continued to largely cancel each other out before FC Isle of Man found a spontaneous breakthrough again on 66 minutes.

Kelly, back to goal from 25 yards out, fed a first-time ball right to substitute, Adam Adebiyi who then returned the favour, sweeping a low cross back to an unmarked Kelly ten yards out who duly tapped home to restore FC Isle of Man's lead.

As the contest crept into stoppage time late on, Abbey Hey pushed in search of a valuable equaliser and got their reward in the 97th minute.

A strike from Moses Yoak 20 yards out was stopped by Killey with the rebound falling to Crawford who then squared across the penalty area to Rogers who - with the aid of a deflection - sent a powerful strike through a sea of players to grab a late leveler.

In the aftermath of that and with a player down in the build-up to Abbey Hey's last-gasp second goal, FC Isle of Man captain Alex Maitland was shown a straight red card by referee, Jacob Widdowson following protests from several members of the home side.

Ultimately, that would prove to be the last, dramatic action of the contest with the full-time whistle seeing the honours shared.

FC Isle of Man's next match will see them face Atherton Laburnum Rovers at The Bowl in Douglas on Saturday, 7 March, kicking-off at 6pm.

Man of the Match: Joao Marques (FC Isle of Man)