FC Isle of Man return to winning ways at AFC Liverpool

Adam Adebiyi stars with hat-trick on Merseyside

FC Isle of Man have returned to winning ways in the NWCFL Premier Division following a convincing 5-1 win at AFC Liverpool this afternoon (14 November).

Three of 'The Ravens' goals came in the first period with Freddie O'Donoghue opening the scoring from the penalty spot followed by Adebiyi's first two strikes at the Berry Street Garage Stadium.

AFC Liverpool pulled one back through Shaun Smith just after the hour-mark before Adebiyi restored FC Isle of Man's three-goal cushion to complete his hat-trick.

The icing on the cake for FC Isle of Man then came from Tomas Brown who slotted away a penalty of his own with two minutes of normal time left.

At full-time, FC Isle of Man Manager, Lee Dixon told Manx Radio that going back to some more familiar tactics played a part in taking maximum points: 

It took nearly half an hour for the deadlock to be broken, with FC Isle of Man striking twice in the space of two minutes.

First, the Manx side were awarded a penaly following a handball by an AFC Liverpool player in his own penalty area with O'Donoghue taking responsibilities from the spot and slotting home.

Just moments later, the Islanders' lead was extended as Adebiyi found the net following a slick team move to put FC Isle of Man in control heading towards the 30-minute mark.

With seven minutes of the first period remaining, 'The Ravens' made their mark once more in front of goal with Adebiyi grabbing his second to put the visitors in the driving seat come the break.

Left with a big task in the second half, AFC Liverpool grabbed themselves a lifeline when they pulled one back in the 61st minute through Shaun Smith's well-placed lob over FC Isle of Man goalkeeper, Adam Killey.

But FC Isle of Man would go on to restore their three-goal advantage on 76 minutes with Adebiyi on target once more to give the travelling side their fourth and his second hat-trick in all competitions so far this campaign.

There was more for Lee Dixon's side to celebrate late on when Adebiyi was brought down in the AFC Liverpool penalty area with the resulting spot-kick being tucked away by Tomas Brown.

Victory on the road for the Manx side sees them record their first league win and the first time they've scored more than once in a league fixture since 3 October as well as their first success away from home at AFC Liverpool in any competition.

FC Isle of Man's next match will be at home against Barnton in the Macron Cup Thurd Round on Saturday, 21 November, at The Bowl in Douglas with kick-off scheduledfor 6pm.