Doyle double helps FC IOM overcome Glossop

Ravens grind out victory on return to The Bowl

A Sean Doyle double helped FC Isle of Man on their way to grinding out a 3-2 win over Glossop North End in the NWCFL Premier Division this evening (21 October).

The Manx side led after six minutes through a looping Doyle header before Tiernan Garvey’s calm finish doubled the hosts’ lead four minutes after.

A well-executed lob from Harry Freedman brought Glossop back into the contest in the second half before Doyle netted again from close range to restore the Ravens’ two-goal advantage.

Jacques Etia’s close range finish for the visitors deep in second-half stoppage time wasn’t enough to stop the Island outfit from claiming three points on their return to home soil.

Following another fortnight on the road with mixed results, FC Isle of Man returned to home turf against a struggling Glossop North End side who themselves were looking for a response to defeat last time out.

The Ravens quickly took control when a Dean Pinnington free-kick from 40 yards out just six minutes in was met by Doyle 12 yards from goal with his looping header sailing beyond Glossop NE ‘keeper, Louis Hood into the bottom corner to open the scoring.

As Glossop floundered, FC Isle of Man struck again in the tenth minute - Pinnington the architect again threading a well-weighted through ball on the edge of the Glossop box to midfielder, Tiernan Garvey who strode in one-on-one with Hood before poking a low shot into the keeper’s bottom left corner for 2-0.

This seemed to wake the visitors up more who began to tighten up defensively, however Glossop North End struggled to create much in the way of meaningful openings going forward to see the scoreline remain that way come half-time.

Into the second period, FC Isle of Man nearly struck early again on 47 minutes when Jacob Crook found himself with space against Hood in the box only to see his resulting shot crash off the underside of the Glossop crossbar.

As the tempo of the game slowed somewhat, Glossop North End grabbed a rare lifeline when a long ball from their half over the FC Isle of Man defence was met by Harry Freedman who, just inside the box, coolly lobbed Ben Wilkinson in the Ravens’ goal and into the empty net for 2-1.

However, just five minutes later, FC Isle of Man restored their two-goal cushion when some neat team play down the right flank ended with substitute, Frank Jones picking up the ball in the Glossop six-yard box before squeezing a pass to the back post for Doyle to slide in and tap home from point blank range.

In a scrappy final 20 minutes, Glossop began to show some more danger going forward as FC Isle of Man sat back and the away side gave themselves another slim hope of a result deep into second-half stoppage time.

In the 96th minute, a long throw from the left from James Badrock resulted in a scramble in the FC Isle of Man six-yard box, culminating in substitute, Jacques Etia managing to scoop a shot towards goal which looped into the net to make it 3-2.

There was nearly a dramatic equaliser with the final action of the game from a Glossop free-kick, however their goalkeeper Hood - up from the back for the last piece - saw his glancing header sail wide to see the Manx side secure all three points.

FC Isle of Man’s next match in the NWCFL Premier Division will be away against Wythenshawe FC on Saturday, 28 October, kicking-off at 2pm.

Man of the Match: Jacob Crook (FC Isle of Man)