Jack McVey’s second-half goal secured a well-earned point for FC Isle of Man on Tuesday night.
The game with Charnock Richard was moved to Darwen, Blackburn, due to the devastating impact the weather has had on Charnock’s Mossie Park Stadium.
While Charnock started well and pushed the Ravens back in the opening few minutes, they were able to create little beyond a corner.
Ste Whitley had the first effort of note for the Ravens as he cut in from the right and let fire but his shot just whistled over the bar.
As Charnock grew into the game, a period of pressure drew a top save from Adam Killey as he got down well to turn Rustam Stepans’ shot behind.
However, Stepans wouldn’t be denied a second time as Fenton Davies nipped in and took the ball from Mcvey, he drove at the back line before rattling an effort off the bar, with Stepans heading into an empty net to make it 1-0.
The “home” side continued to crank up the pressure in the first half with Killey and the back line doing well to keep them at bay.
When the Ravens did break, Dan Hattersley looked the most threatening but his first effort was well stopped by the feet of Harry Moss.
The Ravens began to grow into the game more after the half-hour mark, with Charlie Higgins doing well to win a free kick that was smashed into the wall by Whitley, Hattersley was desperately unlucky to see his volley from 20 yards, Charlie struck wide from a tight angle and Frank Jones could only fire straight at Moss.
The second half saw the Ravens assert themselves more and more as Whitley, Higgins and Jacob Crook began to fire in crosses that were dealt with by the Charnock back line, Whitley coming closest with a header that was tipped over by Moss.
That pressure would eventually pay off as McVey, up from the back, got on the end of a freekick deep into the box and got just enough to slip it past Moss to level the game at 1-1 with just under 20 minutes to go.
However, while the Ravens continued to press forward, Charnock would have the best chances as they broke on the counter, with Nathan Nickeas and Luke Power both skying efforts from inside the six-yard box.
Hattersley had the last chance for the Ravens to win as he got on the end of Crook’s cross, but his header went just wide.
As Jones rang the changes late on, the young chargers all settled well, with Harry Callin coming in for praise from the Charnock social media team for his mature display in goal after coming on for Killey.
A 1-1 result was probably a fair result between two equally matched sides.
The Ravens next game is on Thursday away at Irlam unfortunately due to issues with the camera we won’t be able to stream this game. We hope to see you back at the Bowl on Saturday night for the visit of AFC Liverpool.
