Despite being pre-season, with our first league game of 22/23 still a fortnight away, the Ravens are gearing up for what will be their toughest test yet on Saturday afternoon against Altrincham FC.
Altrincham currently reside in the heady heights of the Vanarama National League, the fifth tier of English football – some four steps above FC Isle of Man and just five steps from the Premier League. Nicknamed Alty or the Robins, the club has been mainstay at this level for the past four seasons finishing 16th, 9th, 12th and 15th respectively.
With a reputation as FA Cup Giant Killers, knocking out more Football League sides than any other Non-League side, their best performance came in 1985/86 where they reached the fourth round beating Birmingham City on the way.
Top scorer last season was Dan Mooney, notching 13 goals across all competitions, 12 in the league. While Mooney has since moved on to Southend United, second on the list last season was winger Ryan Colclough who bagged 11 league goals and begun his career with Championship side Wigan Athletic.
Phil Parkinson has been Alty’s manager since 2017 having himself previously played for Alsager Town FC, a club the Ravens faced last season in the NWCFL Div One South. While proving that upwards mobility is certainly possible in non-league, last year the Robins signed midfielder Tyrese Beaumont from Wythenshawe Amateurs whom FC Isle of Man beat in last season’s promotion play-off semi-final.
In May this year Altrincham announced that they would be turning professional ahead of the upcoming season, as they look to push for promotion into the Football League.
So while this weekend’s fixture will be a fantastic proving ground for a fledgling amateur club such as ourselves to test our levels, it also presents an opportunity to play a club with serious ambitions that are not unlike our own long term aims.
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FC Isle of Man vs Altrincham FC
Sat 16 July / 15:00
Buy Tickets Here
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