FC Isle of Man beat Lower Breck to seal top ten finish 

Whitley double helps Ravens to victory in season finale

FC Isle of Man have assured themselves of a top-ten finish this season after a 3-2 win over Lower Breck in their final game of the 2023/24 NWCFL Premier Division campaign this evening (27 April).

An early strike from Ste Whitley and a Tiernan Garvey half-volley had the Ravens two up at the break before Whitley added another with just over an hour played.

Lewis Buckley then bundled a shot home to give the visitors a lifeline before Lower Breck went down to ten men as Liam Morris was sent off for a second bookable offence.

The Manx side would hold out late on despite a second Lower Breck goal through substitute Kouassi Yao in the 89th minute.

A frantic start to proceedings at The Bowl saw FC Isle of Man take the lead with just five minutes gone when a low Charlie Higgins cross was met at the far post by Whitley who tapped home unmarked from close range.

The home side then had goalkeeper Adam Killey to thank for two crucial stops - first stopping a Michael Fitzgerald header from a corner on 11 minutes before denying Lower Breck's Tom Douglas one-on-one with 22 minutes played.

As Lower Breck continued to push, FC Isle of Man punished the Merseyside outfit at the other end again on 25 minutes.

A counter-attack on the right flank ended with Furo Davies getting to the byline before squaring a pass to Garvey who, in acres of space around 15 yards out, lashed a half-volley past Lower Breck 'keeper, Theo Roberts into the roof of the net.

After the break, Lower Breck's Morris saw two more big opportunities go begging within three minutes of the restart.

First an effort from around 12 yards clipped the outside of Killey's right post before Morris' well-hit curling strike from the edge of the Ravens box was dramatically tipped over the bar by the FC Isle of Man stopper.

Having sustained yet more Lower Breck pressure early in the second half, the Island side once again stunned their opponents against the run of play.

A break from a Lower Breck corner down the left ended with Jacob Crook feeding Whitley down the line before the midfielder cut inside towards goal and drilled a shot past Roberts at the near post to make it three.

Into the last ten minutes and Lower Breck managed to convert one of their many chances.

A corner from the left ended with a scramble at the back post with Buckley getting the telling touch to poke into the bottom corner to get Lower Breck on the scoresheet.

Having given themselves an outside chance of a comeback, Lower Breck then suffered a setback as Morris received a second yellow card and subsequent red for a late tackle on FC Isle of Man's Kyle Watson with three minutes of normal time left.

That however didn't stop the away side grabbing another goal on 89 minutes when a long ball from Roberts over everyone found Yao who, on the edge of the box and with Killey out in no mans land, poked a shot past the goalkeeper which rolled into the net to set up a grandstand finish.

Despite a nervy last few moments for the hosts, the Ravens would hold out to claim all three points much to the delight and relief of the home support.

The result means FC Isle of Man finish the 2023/24 NWCFL Premier Division ninth in the table on 72 points.

That tally betters the 52 points they accrued in the previous campaign which saw them finish 13th in the standings.

Man of the Match: Ste Whitley (FC Isle of Man)