Pinnington stars as FC Isle of Man sweep aside Squires Gate

Ravens win to break duck against Blackpool-based outfit

A stellar Dean Pinnington performance saw FC Isle of Man end their barren run against Squires Gate with a 3-0 victory over the Blackpool-based side in the NWCFL Premier Division this afternoon (9 November).

Two goals in two minutes towards the end of the first half put the Manx visitors in control, first through a composed Pinnington finish before Sean Doyle capitalised to nod home after a Squires Gate defensive calamity.

Pinnington quickly added his second and 'The Ravens'' third ten minutes into the second half to stretch Paul Jones' side's winning run to five matches.

In turn it also sees them take points against their hosts for the first time having lost all four previous meetings between them.

The opening minutes at The Brian Addison Stadium were largely uneventful from both sides with FC Isle of Man's first clear-cut opening coming on 14 minutes.

A Sean Doyle cross found Luke Booth whose header was diverted off the line - five minutes later Liam Birchall came close for the hosts, firing wide from a James Boyd cross.

With just under half an hour gone, Ste Whitley might have thought he'd broken the deadlock only to see a half volley on target denied by Squires Gate stopper Nathan Pennington.

Heading towards a goalless end to the half, FC Isle of Man then found the breakthrough on 42 minutes.

A Callum Sherry cross found Pinnington who cut in from the right blank before lashing an effort into the net at the near post.

A still reeling Squires Gate were then nearly punished again by Pinnington less than a minute later but the Ravens' midfielder this time sent a shot just wide of the post.

But the Island visitors wouldn't let their home side reset and got a second two minutes after getting their first, this time with Doyle heading home following a Squires Gate mix-up at the back between Pennington and defender Charlie Cox.

Trailing going into the second period, Squires Gate started the second 45 brightly with an early sight of goal as a James Hughes effort was deflected wide three minutes after the restart.

Despite that positive start though it would be FC Isle of Man who'd be back on target at the other end on 55 minutes with Pinnington who drove through the centre and, one-on-one with Pennington, slotted past the 'keeper for his second and the Manx side's third despite appeals for handball in the build-up from the hosts.

With 64 minutes on the clock, Pinnington escaped the Squires Gate defence again to put the ball in the net once more only for celebrations to be cut short by the offside flag.

Into the final twenty minutes and searching for some quality in the final third, Squires Gate came close to finding a route back in on 72 minutes as substitute Lennon Scholes headed an effort just wide moments after coming on to the pitch.

Both sides began a raft of substitutions in the closing stages as the home side sought a last-gasp charge back into contention whilst FC Isle of Man looked keen on further tightening their control.

Ultimately it would be the latter whose game plan stuck together in the final few minutes as FC Isle of Man claimed points from Luke Evans' side for the very first time.

FC Isle of Man's next match will be at home against Burscough on Saturday, 16 November, kicking-off at 6pm at The Bowl in Douglas.

Manx Radio will be providing full live match commentary on our DAB and AM1368 channels.