Whitley secures FC Isle of Man victory at South Liverpool

Ravens man hits brace to hand Island side third straight win

A second brace from Ste Whitley in as many games saw FC Isle of Man record their third straight win with a 2-0 victory at South Liverpool in the NWCFL Premier Division this evening (18 September).

A frustrating first half for both teams saw 'The Ravens' spurn the biggest opportunity of the first period as Jack McVey saw a penalty saved with less than 15 minutes played.

However, the visitors opened the scoring on 59 minutes when Whitley grabbed his first, tapping home a selfless assist from Daniel Gerrard.

Whitley then fired home a second with six minutes remaining to stretch Paul Jones' team's unbeaten league run to six matches.

The standout moment of an uneventful first half from both sides came when FC Isle of Man were awarded a penalty on 13 minutes after South Liverpool goalkeeper Lucas Allan was adjudged to have brought down striker Tom Creer.

McVey stepped up from the spot but saw his low effort denied by Allan who gathered down to his right hand side.

It would take until the 59th minute for the deadline to be broken by the visitors as Gerrard was set through on goal before calmly squaring a pass to the onrushing Whitley who slotted into an open net.

South Liverpool quickly went in search of a response and nearly found one five minutes later as Sam Smith had the beating of FC Isle of Man goalkeeper, Adam Killey only to see his following strike blocked on the line by Ravens defender Callum Sherry.

With the contest still finely poised, the Manx side made sure of victory with six minutes remaining as Whitley found space yet again going forward before lashing an effort past Allan for his and his team's second of the night.

FC Isle of Man's next match will be away against West Didsbury & Chorlton on Saturday, 21 September, kicking-off at the Step Places Stadium at 3pm.