Ten-man Ravens produce stunning comeback to beat Longridge Town

Whitley nets dramatic late winner to hand FC Isle of Man victory

A sensational second-half comeback saw FC Isle of Man earn a late 3-2 victory over Longridge Town this evening (9 March) in the NWCFL Premier Division.

In a dominant first half display, Longridge Town led 2-0 at the break courtesy of a Scott Harries tap-in and an FC Isle of Man own goal from a Ryan McLean cross.

A rejuvenated Ravens side then struck back in the second period to level through close-range strikes from Sean Doyle and Dan Hattersley.

Despite seeing defender Callum Sherry sent off in the 70th minute, Ste Whitley then struck for the Manx side in stoppage time to complete the turnaround and snatch maximum points.

In tonight's encounter at The Bowl, FC Isle of Man were hoping to build from a late victory last weekend against a struggling Longridge Town who had tasted success in midweek.

Despite coming into the game in the lower regions of the table, Longridge Town proved the commanding force in the first half through their slick passing and movement.

The visitors were then rewarded for their strong spell with 16 minutes played - Malick Diakite Tanou's run and curling effort from the left edge of the box was parried by Ravens goalkeeper, Adam Killey into the path of Harries who tapped home from a few yards out.

As FC Isle of Man struggled to find an answer to their free-flowing opponents, Longridge Town struck again four minutes later when a well-worked counter-attack saw McLean's cross from the left flank across goal diverted into Killey's net off an FC Isle of Man boot to double the Lancashire side's advantage.

Trailing 2-0 at the break and in desperate need of a response, FC Isle of Man emerged into the second period the brighter of the two sides.

The Island outfit's stronger showing earned them a lifeline on 54 minutes as a floated cross from Jacob Crook from the left found Doyle from six yards who leapt above his marker and powered a low header under Longridge Town stopper, Will Kitchen into the net for 2-1.

Full of belief against a shaken Longridge Town, the Ravens got themselves back on level terms on 65 minutes.

A short goal kick from Kitchen was closed down in the Longridge box with a rebound falling to Hattersley who crashed a resulting effort off of the underside of the crossbar before claiming the ball a second time to place a low effort into the bottom corner.

Having restored parity, FC Isle of Man then ended up with a setback as a wild challenge from defender Callum Sherry on Longridge Town's McLean with 20 minutes left resulted in Sherry receiving a straight red card from referee Ethan Murray.

Despite the man advantage, Longridge Town struggled to make it count with FC Isle of Man continuing to look a threat on the break.

Heading into the 90th minute and the prospect of a grandstand finale, it was the Ravens who would provide the last moment of drama.

Longridge Town half cleared a corner to the edge of their area to substitute Whitley who shifted the ball onto his right foot before curling a cross-come-shot over a rooted Kitchen into the top corner to spark wild celebrations from the home players and supporters.

FC Isle of Man's next match will be away against Charnock Richard on Wednesday, 13 March, kicking-off at 7.45pm.