Under the rain and floodlights at The Bowl on Saturday evening, FC Isle of Man extended their unbeaten run to five games with a convincing 2-0 win over Cheadle Town, thanks in a big part to Ste Whitley’s first-half brace.
The match began with a brisk intensity as The Ravens sought to build on their recent form. In just the fourth minute, FC Isle of Man were awarded a penalty when Tom Creer burst into the box and was brought down in the box by defender Jack Taylor. Whitley, calm and composed, stepped up to the spot and dispatched the ball to the bottom left corner, sending goalkeeper James Hodges the wrong way and putting the Ravens ahead early.
Whitley continued to be the standout player, doubling the lead in the 21st minute. Creer’s initial interception led to a perfectly executed pass to Whitley, who maneuvered himself and the ball, around the advancing Hodges and slotted the ball into the empty goal.
In the 25th minute, FC Isle of Man manager Paul Jones was shown a straight red card for delaying the restart of play when Cheadle were awarded a throw-in.
The travelling sides best opportunity of the first half came when Kyle Foley delivered a precise cross to Rhain Davis. Davis’s header, however, narrowly missed the target, grazing the woodwork and denying the visitors a chance to pull one back.
As the second half unfolded, Cheadle Town increased their efforts to find a way back into the game but couldn’t find a way through a Raven’s defence that was being superbly marshalled by Ryan Burns and Ronan McDonnell. FC Isle of Man were also seeing their chances restricted to a minimum, with Luke Booth and Kyle Watson only getting half chances at the other end.
Cheadle’s Kaleb Parkinson had two significant chances to get his side back into the game, the first being met by a last ditch clearance off the line by McDonnell in the 78th minute, and the second being expertly saved by goalkeeper Adam Killey 7 minutes before the end.
In the dying moments, Cheadle Town nearly managed a late goal. Foley found space on the left and crossed to substitute Harrison Bickerton, he looked destined to score, only to put his shot wide of the target, sealing the 2-0 victory for FC Isle of Man.
The Man of the Match Award, chosen by Isle of Man FA president Tony Mepham, went to Ste Whitley.
FC Isle of Man now prepare for their next challenge away to South Liverpool on Wednesday, 18 September, at 7:45 pm. We will be providing live updates from this game over on our 𝕏 feed.
You can hear what manager Paul Jones and goal scorer Ste Whitley had to say after full time here:
