Last-gasp Bury strike denies FC Isle of Man victory

Doyle scores again as Ravens held to draw in stoppage time

A last-gasp Ben Hockenhull strike deep in second-half stoppage time saw FC Isle of Man denied victory in a pulsating 1-1 draw with Bury in the NWCFL Premier Division this evening (7 September).

Following a goalless but fast-paced first half, the Manx side led against the run of play when Sean Doyle headed home an Adam Adebiyi cross on 56 minutes.

With moments to spare at the death, however, Bury's Hockenhull found the net with a composed finish in the fifth minute of added time at the end of the contest to ensure 'The Shakers' remain unbeaten.

It was the final chapter in a thrilling finale in which FC Isle of Man's Callum Sherry saw red late on with Bury's Tanaka Cherera and Andrew Briggs also being sin-binned with just minutes to go.

Going into tonight's tie at The Bowl, FC Isle of Man - victorious in midweek - faced a visiting side in imperious form, unbeaten in all competitions and on a seven-match winning streak.

Whilst the first half was played with a relentless intensity, both sides struggled to create many openings in the final third.

The first major chance came the way of the hosts on 13 minutes when a flick-on header from Doyle found Ste Whitley who, back to goal 15 yards out, swiveled and lashed a shot at goal which was beaten away by Bury goalkeeper Mitchell Allen.

The visiting side began to grow into the game and had a chance of their own in the 29th minute as the lively Tanaka Cherera cut in from the left flank before fizzing a shot at the near post which was well blocked by FC Isle of Man stopper, Adam Killey.

Following the break, Bury began to pile the pressure on 'The Ravens' from the outset but would end up finding themselves behind eleven minutes after the restart.

With space on the left, Adebiyi floated a cross into Doyle who, six yards out, leapt above his mark to divert his header past Allen into the top corner to open the scoring.

This was the cue for Bury to up the intensity going forward as much of the remainder of the second half saw David McNabb's side push back FC Isle of Man into their own territory.

With four minutes of normal time left a big turning point came as Sherry - already on a caution - was adjudged by referee Thomas Fox to be timewasting over a throw-in and was subsequently issued a second yellow leaving Paul Jones' side with a man disadvantage heading into stoppage time.

As time ebbed away, Bury's charge for a late leveler wasn't helped when they found themselves down to nine men as Briggs and Cherera both ended up being sin binned in quick succession for separate incidents.

But the final dramatic twist was to come with 95 minutes on the clock.

With the last chance of the game, Bury's Lewis Earl delivered a long ball from the halfway line over the FC Isle of Man defence into Hockenhull who showed great composure to control before rounding Killey and placing into an empty net, sparking wild celebrations amongst the large numbers of travelling support.

FC Isle of Man's next match will be away against Ramsbottom United on Tuesday, 10 September at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium, kicking-off at 7.45pm.

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