FC Isle of Man win to stun league leaders

Ravens deliver smash-and-grab job against Wythenshawe

FC Isle of Man snatched a smash-and-grab victory as they stunned NWCFL Premier Division leaders, Wythenshawe with a 2-1 victory at The Bowl this evening (21 February).

The Manx side's opponents led on 12 minutes through an exquisite Steven Hewitt free-kick which found the top corner off the underside of the crossbar.

Against the run of play, 'The Ravens' levelled when a Ste Whitley cross from the right sailed beyond everyone and into the net just four minutes later.

In the second period, Dean Pinnington's cool one-on-one finish in the 53rd minute proved to be the winner as Wythenshawe spurned a host of big chances to leave the contest empty-handed.

Looking to go three unbeaten, FC Isle of Man went into tonight's match-up as clear underdogs against a Wythenshawe side who went into the weekend 12 points clear at the top of table.

The visitors made a dominant start and were rewarded 12 minutes in when a free-kick on the edge of the FC Isle of Man area on the right was whipped in by Hewitt with his effort looping into the far top corner with some help from the woodwork.

As 'The Ammies' continued to assert control, FC Isle of Man grabbed an equaliser four minutes later against the run of play when Whitley on the right flank cut inside and his resulting cross evaded everyone - including Wythenshawe goalkeeper, Ryan Michael Forde - to sail into the far corner and level proceedings.

Despite the setback, Wythenshawe continued to threaten with Joshua Dickin being denied by FC Isle of Man goalkeeper, Adam Killey from a corner in the 21st minute and Wythenshawe's Darius Palma narrowly sending a header wide after a sweeping move a few minutes after.

Following the break, Hewitt came close to scoring again - this time direct from a corner on the left - for Wythenshawe shortly after the restart, only to see his inviting delivery headed off the line by FC Isle of Man defender, Karl Clark.

Just as they surprised the away side in the first half, FC Isle of Man stunned their opponents again in the 53rd minute.

A quick counter-attack saw Charlie Higgins loop a ball over the Wythenshawe defence to Pinnington who shrugged off Dickin before calmly slotting a low effort past Forde into the bottom corner to give the Manx side the lead.

The final 30 minutes were almost one-way traffic in favour of Wythenshawe who continued to push to get back on level terms.

Andrew Keogh's rifled effort inside the box from a corner was blocked on the goal line by a combination of Killey and Clark, and elsewhere a pin-point William Calligan cross from the left found Aaron Dwyer who crashed a header against the crossbar from six yards.

In the final 15 minutes, Killey was called into action again, this time to deny Oghenero Orhenomare's low strike at the near post after the player himself had worked his way past several challenges on the right-hand side.

As Wythenshawe pushed late on, gaps opened up for FC Isle of Man to potentially exploit and Pinnington came close to another on 78 minutes, but on this occasion one-on-one with Forde on the edge of the box could only fire a strike straight at the goalkeeper.

That missed opportunity, however, wouldn't come back to haunt FC Isle of Man who held on through seven minutes of second-half stoppage time to take an unlikely three points and maintain a 100 percent home record over their opponents in all competitions stretching back to 2022.

FC Isle of Man's next match will be at home against Abbey Hey on Saturday, 28 February, at The Bowl in Douglas, kicking-off at 6pm.

Man of the Match: Alex Maitland (FC Isle of Man)