FC Isle of Man were pegged back at the death by a late equaliser as we drew 2-2 with Irlam on Saturday evening.
Two Charlie Higgins goals had given Rick Holden’s side the lead before Mason Everton struck in the 95th minute.
Seven minutes, Irlam could have been ahead as Jack Mitchell’s driven cross took an awkward deflection, forcing goalkeeper Adam Killey to react smartly and punch clear.
Moments later, Mitchell broke through one-on-one on the counter, but a heavy touch allowed Killey to race out and smother the danger on the edge of the area.
Despite early pressure from the visitors, it was the Ravens who struck first.
On 17 minutes, Higgins picked up possession some 30 yards from goal, gliding past a challenge before firing a precise low strike beyond Elliot Wynne into the bottom-right corner to give FC Isle of Man the lead.
However, that advantage was short-lived. Six minutes later, a long ball found Sandle at the far post and under pressure from defender Karl Clark, the Irlam forward squeezed a low effort under Killey to level.
Second Half
The Ravens were handed a chance to regain the lead with 20 minutes remaining as sub Adam Adebiyi was brought down by Wynne with Higgins confidently dispatching the spot-kick.
Seven minutes later, referee George Corrie awarded a second penalty when Clark was tripped in the box following an Irlam failure to clear a corner.
Higgins stepped up again in search of his hat-trick, but his attempted panenka clipped the crossbar and bounced back to him, with his headed follow-up disallowed.
With the Ravens protecting a narrow 2–1 lead, Irlam pushed forward in the closing stages and found an equaliser in the third minute of added time.
A corner from the right caused problems in the box with Everton eventually lashing home a half-volley through a crowd of bodies and into the net.
There was still time for late drama, as Irlam passed up a golden opportunity to steal all three points with the final kick of the match as sub Declan Daniels squared for John Johnston, who fired over from around 15 yards.
Upcoming
Our next game is on Tuesday evening at Atherton, however this game is weather dependent.
We are back at The Bowl on Saturday evening for our last home game before Christmas.
