FC Isle of Man swept aside by Lower Breck

Title contenders give Ravens their heaviest home defeat of season

FC Isle of Man have suffered their heaviest home defeat of the season so far after being soundly beaten 4-0 by NWCFL Premier Division title contenders Lower Breck this evening (29 March).

In a closely-contested first half the visitors led on the stroke of half-time thanks to a towering Thomas Mitchell header from a corner.

Lower Breck extended their control with two quickfire goals just after the hour mark - first a sensational half-volley from Jesse Dowling and a close range finish from Elliot Hughes.

The high-flying Merseysiders wrapped up a commanding performance with a fourth on 81 minutes as Sam Burns smashed home a rebound after seeing an initial effort come off the post.

This evening's meeting pitted two sides in contrasting form together, with FC Isle of Man winless in seven and Lower Breck starting the weekend just three points behind league leaders Bury.

In an evenly-matched first 45, the first chance of the contest came on 20 minutes as FC Isle of Man 'keeper Adam Killey reacted well to deny Lewis Buckley from around 12 yards out.

The hosts responded with a chance of their own nine minutes later as Jacob Crook rose highest from a corner only to see his resulting header cleared off the Lower Breck goal line.

'The Ravens' then gave their opponents another scare as a Dan Simpson cross from the left found Ste Whitley at the far post whose well-driven volley beat Lower Breck stopper, Theo Roberts but was scooped off the goal line by defender Frazer Cookson.

But in additional time at the end of the first period, Lower Breck struck the opener.

An Elliot Hughes corner from the left found Mitchell who powered through several players to send a bullet header past Killey into the bottom corner.

Despite an even first-half battle, the tide quickly turned in favour of the visitors in the second and Lower Breck doubled their lead just after the hour mark in style.

A Sam Burns cross in the 61st minute from the left bounced across the edge of the FC Isle of Man penalty area and towards Dowling who sent a crisp half-volley flying past Killey into the top corner.

Now in control, 'Breck' ramped up the pressure and added a third just four minutes later.

Another well-worked corner routine ended in a cross from the left flying through a sea of players with Hughes getting a telling touch to direct the ball across the line from around six yards.

Unable to stem the tide, FC Isle of Man struggled to find inspiration going forward and were struck with a final blow heading into the last ten minutes.

With 81 minutes on the clock, Burns was fed through on goal by substitute Jordan Barrow with Burns initial effort cannoning off Killey's right post with Burns then reacting quickest to the rebound to slam into an empty net from point-blank range.

The result condemns FC Isle of Man to their eighth successive match without a win whilst Lower Breck keep up the pace in their pursuit of league leaders Bury in the title race.

FC Isle of Man's next match will at home against Charnock Richard on Saturday, 5 April, kicking-off at 6pm.

Man of the Match: Sam Burns (Lower Breck)