In a nail-biting encounter at The Bowl, the Ravens suffered a gut-wrenching 1-0 defeat against Cheadle Town, as Lee Knight’s dramatic header in the 94th minute secured a last-gasp victory for the visitors last weekend.
Manager Paul Jones spoke to Dean Turton post match, you can see that interview below. You can also read the match report on the game from Dean here.
Paul, the coaching staff and players will be looking to bounce back straight away against Squires Gate this weekend. The opposition currently sit 22nd in the league and 21st in the form table compared to 9th in the league and 10th in the form table for the Ravens. As proven last weekend vs Cheadle Town, every game has its different challenges in this league.
Squad News
A number of enforced changes have been made to the squad due to player available this weekend. It gives an opportunity for Dean Leece, Danny Gerrard, Eoghain Sherrard and Phil Kelly all of whom return to the match day squad.
- Jamie Corlett
- Jacob Crook
- Tiernan Garvey
- Danny Gerrard
- Frank Jones
- Phil Kelly
- Dean Leece
- Alex Maitland
- Dean Pinnington
- Eoghain Sherrard
- Callum Sherry
- Dan Simpson
- Kyle Watson
- Michael Williams
- Ste Whitley
- Ben Wilkinson
The history of our opposition (Squires Gate)
Squires Gate were formed in 1948 as Squires Gate British Legion FC and competed in the Blackpool & District Amateur League. They won the leagues Rawling Shield in their first season. The name of the club was changed to Squires Gate FC in 1953. They won the leagues First Division in 1955-56 and 1956-57; also the Blackwell Cup in 1958-59 and 1959-60. They spent the 1960-61 in the Fylde District League, winning the Fylde Cup and losing finalists in the Bannister Cup.
They were elected into the North West Counties Football League for the 1991-92 season, joining Division Two for the 1991-92 season. They won the 2001-02 season Division Two Trophy and then the following season they missed the runner-up spot on goal difference but were still promoted to Division One following the demise of Stand Athletic who had originally been promoted as Division Two champions. They reached their highest league placing in the 2005-06 season also reaching the quarter finals of the FA Vase.
Unfortunately during the 21/22 season, the club had the devastating passing of beloved chairman Tony Jo. Luke Evans and the rest of the club committee now had the club in their hands. It made for a difficult summer in 2022, with the club only just surviving, but the committee and its volunteers pulled together to keep the club afloat and put together a new young and hungry squad for the 2022/23
season. While the previous season’s FA Cup achievement couldn’t be matched, an excellent run was put together in the FA Vase, with Gate reaching the Third Round. The summer of 2023 saw more off field changes, with club legend John Maguire stepping down from his role as Secretary, ending 48 years of stellar service. James Ashton and Alan Davis were elected onto the club committee, as well as Ian Moore who became the new secretary. Hayden Moore was appointed Head of Recruitment, while a newchairman was also appointed – head of Global Football Network, John Pladas.
Game Day
If it is your first time watching the Ravens or you have have travelled to the Island to watch the game this evening (welcome!), we have everything covered below in terms of the game day details!
FC Isle of Man’s home stadium “The Bowl” is based in our capital Douglas.
The pitch is a 3G surface and there are seats for up to 3,500 spectators, including a viewing platform for disabled users.
Getting here
Just a twenty minute walk from central Douglas, there is car parking on site and many bus services drop off on Peel Road, just a minute’s walk from the ground.
Address
The Bowl
Peel Road
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM2 1AD
What 3 Words
///rates.bunks.spine
Gates to the ground will open at 5pm ahead of the 6pm kick off. We have two entrances, one at the main car park (Gate A) and another at the National Sports Centre end of the ground (Gate B).
We operate a strict no alcohol policy at The Bowl. If you are looking to meet up with fellow fans pre-match a number of supporters usually head to The Pinewood Social Club from around 4pm onwards. This is open to both home and away fans.
Tickets
Tickets are available from TicketCo here and will also be available at the ground where cash or card is accepted. We do encourage purchasing your tickets online to avoid any delays getting into the ground.
| General Admission | £10.00 |
| Concession (Ages 12-16, Students / Over 60s / Disabled) | £5.00 |
| Junior (Ages 5-11) | £3.00 |
| Child (Under 5) | Free |
Matchday Programme
Our brilliant programme editor Manuela Swiatek along with The Ravens 12th Man put in a lot of work each week to deliver a high standard match day programme. The programmes printed locally by BHW Printgroup and are priced at just £2. They are available from both entrances and this week in the programme we cover:
- A welcome from Sarah Jones
- A word from Manager Paul Jones
- Information about Looky’s Aid
- History of our opposition Squires Gate
- Player Profile – Nathan Cliffe (Opposition)
- Q&A with club’s official photographer and welfare officer, Gary Weightman
- The IFGL Quiz
- And much more!
You can of course receive a FREE digital programme each week by becoming a Ravens Official Supporter. More details on that can be found here.
A pound for the ground & golden goal
To help raise money for the club we run two competitions on game day and it is your chance to support the club whilst being in with the chance of winning some money! Cash or card is taken for both and tickets can be purchased from the merchandise table.
Golden Goal
Each ticket for golden goal costs just £2 and contains a concealed minute, if the goal is scored in the minute you have then you have won! The winner will be announced over the PA when the first goal of the game is scored. The winner will receive £90!
A Pound for the Ground
New to FC Isle of Man and currently on a trial basis is a pound for the ground! The tickets are just £1 each and the winner takes 40% of sales. This operates like a tombola, where for each £1 you get a ticket with a unique number on. It is then drawn from the Ravens tombola box at half time.
Merchandise
We have a small merchandise table at the ground which is located next to Gate A. This week we will have:
- Mugs
- Water Bottles
- Air Fresheners
- Key Rings
- Pint Glasses
- Christmas Baubles
- Adult & Kids Hoodies
- Kids Raven T-Shirts
- and more!
The Isle of Man Welcome Centre which is located in the Sea Terminal on Douglas Promenade are our current only stockists of FC Isle of Man Merchandise and stock a greater range than what is available at the game. You can get all of the above at the Welcome Centre as well as Home Replica Shirts.
They are open from 8am until 4:30pm, Monday to Friday and from 8am until 4pm on a Saturday.
Catering
We will have both Douglas Pizza Company and Prep Fresh at the ground on Saturday to keep you watered and fed! Douglas Pizza Company will be offering hot dogs, tea, coffee and confectionary. Prep Fresh will be offering brisket baps, tea, coffee and confectionary.
Please do support them.
Staying up to date with the game
We would love to welcome you to The Bowl but if you can’t make it due to other commitments or not being on the Island, don’t worry we have you covered!
Live Stream
Our live stream accompanied with the commentary from Manx Radio is available to purchase for just £6 or £4 if you are an Official Supporter. That can be purchased here.
Social Media
Our media team will also have you covered with a running text commentary on X with the half time & full time score also being published on Facebook & Instagram. They will also have a pre-match interview with Paul Jones & Daniel Simpson followed by a post-match interview with Paul Jones. These can all be watched on YouTube, make sure to subscribe to the official FC Isle of Man channel to be notified on all new videos!
We look forward to welcome you to The Bowl on Saturday
#UnleashTheRavens
