Goals from Jack McVey, Ste Whitley and Tom Creer saw FC Isle of Man overcome a tricky Barnoldswick Town on Saturday.
The win takes Paul Jones’ side into fourth in the NWCFL Premier Division ahead of this weekend’s visit of league leader Ramsbottom United.
The Ravens have been guilty of conceding early goals this season, but it was them who took the lead in the eighth minute as Jack McVey prodded home Whitley’s corner after Jacob Crook’s cross was put behind.
That lead didn’t last long however as Jenson Butterworth’s cross from the right beat everyone to pick out Gareth Hill who nodded home to make it 1-1 inside 15 minutes.
With neither side able to create much after, it was the homeside who thought they should have been given the chance to take the lead after a series of corners which saw Crook clear one effort off the line.
Barlick then had a half shout for a penalty as the ball appeared to strike a Raevens hand in the box from a corner, but referee Jamie Law was unmoved and waived play on.
As the midfields battled to try and get on top, a driving run from Crook saw the Barlick defenders left with no choice but to haul him down for a freekick on the edge.
When McVey’s effort hit the wall, it fell to Danny Gerrard who tried a curling and dipping effort that just didn’t come down enough and dropped onto the top of the goal.
The home side had the final chance to get ahead and Hill would have scored were it not for Callum Sherry’s interception to head the ball up and over from practically his own goal line.
The second half saw little in the way of chances as neither side was able to find a killer ball to open the other up.
When a chance was created, Hill headed wide from what was arguably the best opening up of the opening 15 minutes.
A freekick just inside the Barlick half on the 66th minute gave McVey a chance to try something different and he deceived almost everyone when he tried to sneak an effort into the near side, with Barlick’s Gregor Zabret forced into a good stop.
With chances at a premium, it was the sin-binning of Barlick’s Ryan Moore that just helped create the space that sub Charlie Higgins needed.
As Tom Creer did well to win the ball high in Barlick’s half, Higgins’ cross was headed in by Whitley to give the Ravens a 1-2 lead.
Higgins would turn provider again as Creer controlled a long ball, layed it back to Higgins whose first time pass was inch perfect to set the young striker away.
As he bore down on goal, he sat Zabret down and dinked it over him to wrap up the points with a 1-3 win.
FC Isle of Man’s next game is at the Bowl on Saturday as they welcome league leader’s Ramsbottom United, the last meeting between the Ravens emerged victorious with goals from Creer and Luke Booth.
