Late Litherland penalty hands FC Isle of Man defeat

Two spot-kicks from Jack McVey not enough to avoid loss

A penalty in second half stoppage time saw FC Isle of Man beaten late on as they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Litherland REMYCA at The Bowl this evening (10 December).

Litherland striker Tom Lawless put the visitors in front after six minutes from close range before The Ravens levelled just before half-time through a Jack McVey penalty after handball in the Litherland penalty area.

A superb Paul Foy strike from 25 yards then had the Merseyside club in front again on 67 minutes before McVey converted from the penalty spot again with five minutes left after FC IoM’s Ste Whitley was brought down in the box.

But Litherland then snatched all three points with a penalty of their own in the 93rd minute with Foy slotting home from 12 yards after Lawless was chopped down in the area by defender Tom Shimmin.

Kick-off for tonight’s NWCFL Premier Division clash in bitterly cold conditions was delayed by 35 minutes due to travel disruption for the visiting Litherland REMYCA side.

FC Isle of Man went into the contest looking to get their third consecutive win for the first time this season, whilst Litherland were looking to improve on a record of one win in their last eleven in all competitions.

In a cagey start to the game, Litherland struck first when a well-worked passage of play down the right wing saw a low cross fizzed across the FC Isle of Man six-yard box and striker Tom Lawless was there to hammer a strike home from close-range.

Despite the early goal, a largely uninspired first half saw neither side gain a firm grip on proceedings, with Dean Kearns in the FC IOM goal and Samuel Morton in the Litherland net having very little, if anything to do.

With little to no clear cut chances either way in the opening 45, the Ravens then got a lifeline from nowhere on 44 minutes when winger Charlie Higgins saw his near post effort saved by Morton from ten yards which was parried onto the arm of a Litherland defender with referee, Justin Walton pointing to the spot.

Up stepped McVey who dispatched his kick low to Morton’s left and into the bottom corner to level the scoring come half time.

The second period began in an equally scrappy manner and it took a moment of class on 67 minutes to give Litherland the lead once more.

A short corner from the left found Paul Foy 25 yards out on the left of the Ravens box, and he had time to set himself and unleash a fierce drive into Kearns’ top right corner.

In response, FC Isle of Man again struggled to break down a resolute and disciplined Litherland defence as time ticked away, but the Manx side again were handed a lifeline on 85 minutes when captain, Ste Whitley, was dragged down in the Litherland box whilst through on goal - another FC Isle of Man penalty awarded.

McVey stepped up again and delivered once more from the spot with a stuttering run-up and cool low strike into Morton’s bottom right corner for 2-2.

As the game seemingly edged towards a draw, the visitors stunned the Island outfit again when a swift counter attack saw Lawless through one-on-one with Kearns, only for the striker to be felled by defender Tom Shimmin in the FC IOM box, with Justin Walton again pointing to the spot for the third time in the game in the 93rd minute.

Foy took responsibility and curled a low effort to Kearns’s right with the keeper getting low and getting a hand to the effort, but not enough to stop it squirming into the bottom corner to help the visitors to a 3-2 victory.

FC Isle of Man’s next game will be away against Squires Gate in the NWCFL Premier Division on Wednesday, 14 December, kicking-off at 8pm.

Man of the Match: Jamie Corlett (FC Isle of Man)