FC Isle of Man suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Barnoldswick Town in the NWCFL Premier Division at The Bowl, with relentless rain and severe gusts intensifying the challenge.
The early minutes held promise as a 10th-minute Dan Simpson corner found Sean Doyle, whose header was valiantly cleared off the line by Barlicks Ben Ashton. However, the tide turned just six minutes later.
Barnoldswick Town seized the advantage after a low corner from Ashton was driven to the edge of The Ravens box where Barlick captain, Andrew Hill, met it and unleashed a low driven strike into the bottom corner.
The goal was initially ruled out for offside as the linesman deemed a Barnoldswick player to be interfering in play, by being in Ben Wilkinson’s line of sight as the ball was struck, but referee Peter Fuller overturned the decision and awarded the goal, giving the away side the lead.
The Ravens struggled to break through Barlick’s organised defence, with goalkeeper Callum Jakovlevs denying Frank Jones later in the half.
The second half saw FC Isle of Man emerge with brighter intent, dominating possession but facing difficulties in the final third. Despite their best efforts, late in the game, a remarkable double save by Jakovlevs denied Sean Doyle’s header and subsequent follow-up, securing victory for Barnoldswick Town, by the narrowest of margins.
The Ocean Motor Village Man of the Match honours went to Barnoldswick Town’s captain, Andrew Hill.
Mike Holt caught up with Manager Paul Jones for an in depth post match interview.
Looking ahead, FC IOM aim to regroup as they face Ramsbottom United at The Bowl next week, with kick off at 6 pm. You can get your tickets for that one here.
