FC Isle of Man finish with a flourish to beat Wythenshawe Town

Ravens hit three to end campaign with five straight victories

FC Isle of Man's finished their rollercoaster NWCFL Premier Division season with a bang as they beat high-flying Wythenshawe Town 3-1 at The Bowl this afternoon (22 April).

Frank Jones' curling 18-yard effort put the Ravens in front with 13 minutes gone before Ste Whitley's marauding solo finish doubled FC Isle of Man's lead eight minutes after.

The visitors then pulled one back through Jerome Wright's fierce low strike in the 24th minute but the Manx side sealed the victory twelve minutes into the second-half when Furo Davies added the Ravens' third with a powerful strike in off the crossbar.

It means the Island side end the season with five straight victories, which include wins over other promotion-chasing sides Avro and Bury AFC.

The in-form FC Isle of Man took to the field against a Wythenshawe Town side who were still in contention for a promotion play-off spot on the final day and needing a strong result.

The visitors gave the hosts an early scare two minutes in when a long cross found Aaron Dwyer on the edge of the FC IoM box who lobbed Ravens goalkeeper, Dean Kearns, only to see his effort hit the inside of the post.

After weathering an early storm, the home side then took the lead in the 13th minute as Wythenshawe Town cleared a corner to FC IoM midfielder, Kyle Watson, who squared a short pass to his left to Frank Jones who set himself from 18 yards and bent a low effort past Wythenshawe stopper, Elliot Wynne, into the bottom left corner.

In response, the Manchester side then rattled the woodwork again, this time when a Dwyer cross from the right found striker, Benito Lowe who on the half-volley from six yards crashed his effort off the underside of Kearns' crossbar.

Despite another nervy moment, the Manx side then doubled their lead 21 minutes in when a long ball from Kearns was headed on by Furo Davies over the Wythenshawe Town defence into the path of Ste Whitley who strode in on goal before slotting a low strike past Wynne at the keeper's near post for 2-0.

This seemed to spur the visiting team into more life as Wythenshawe Town pushed harder for a way back into the match and found it three minutes later - another cross from the right was missed by Lowe in the six-yard box but was trapped by Jerome Wright 15 yards out on the left who unleashed a vicious low strike past a rooted Kearns into the bottom left corner to make it 2-1.

The first-half would end with tempers boiling over as a handful of heavy tackles sparked a fracas between both sets of players, with referee, Sam Oritt, forced into brandish several yellow cards to either side due to the ensuing arguments.

Into the second period, and both sides eased their way into the next 45 but in the 57th minute, the home side restored their two-goal cushion.

Neat FC Isle of Man interplay on the right edge of the Wythenshawe Town box was finished off by Furo Davies who danced past two tackles before lashing a powerful strike over Wynne and into the net off the underside of the crossbar for 3-1.

Now with more work to do, Wythenshawe Town spurned to big opportunities to get back into the game in the following minutes.

First, Jordan Burton saw his header from point-blank range saved by Kearns on 66 minutes before moments after an unmarked Aaron Dwyer scuffed his shot from around 12 yards from a Darius Palma cross on the right with the goal seemingly at his mercy.

As a fairly physical battle between the sides formed the closing stages, the visitors were unable to break down a stubborn Ravens defence who would hold on to claim three points and a strong end to their up-and-down season come the final whistle.

The result means FC Isle of Man finish the NWCFL Premier Division in 13th place in the table, having accumulated 52 points - scoring 67 times and conceding 90 times in the process.

Man of the Match: Kyle Watson (FC Isle of Man)