FC Isle of Man held to draw by FC St Helens

Ravens surrender two-goal lead in stalemate

FC Isle of Man surrendered a two-goal lead as they were held to a 2-2 draw by FC St Helens in the NWCFL Premier Division this evening (18 October).

'The Ravens' took control in the first half as two goals in less than a minute from Karl Clark and Charlie Higgins gave the hosts control.

However, FC St Helens fought back in the second 45 with Harry Scarborough netting in the 55th minute before he converted a penalty just three minutes later.

The result means FC Isle of Man remain 21st in the league standings but now move five points clear of the relegation zone.

After a much-needed win on the road seven days ago, FC Isle of Man returned to home soil at The Bowl tonight facing an FC St Helens side without a win in their last three in all competitions.

In a cagey start to the game, FC St Helens had the ball in the back of the net on 18 minutes when Scarborough volleyed home a James Murphy cross from the right, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

Six minutes after that, the Manx side broke the deadlock when a Ste Whitley corner from the right flew across the box to an unmarked Clark who nodded in from point-blank range.

Almost immediately from the restart, FC Isle of Man won possession back which culminated in a Whitley cross from the right finding Higgins who rose high in the FC St Helens box to send a header into the top corner.

Into the second half, FC St Helens settled better and found a route back into the contest on 55 minutes.

A mazing Ryan Sinnott run past three defenders on the left saw Sinnott square a low pass across the penalty area to Scarborough who calmly slotted the ball home from around ten yards.

The visitors were then handed a golden opportunity for another three minutes after that when FC Isle of Man goalkeeper, Mark Blair spilled a cross to the feet of Murphy with the goalkeeper then dragging Murphy to the ground, seeing referee, Scott Dowell point to the spot.

Up stepped Scarborough from 12 yards who made no mistake, sending Blair the wrong way and firing low into the bottom corner to level the contest.

With the game evenly-balanced, the final 30 minutes were a scrappy affair with both sides struggling to create any clear openings.

The closest either came to finding a winner late on came on 90 minutes when FC St Helens' Mackenzie ONeill cut in from the left flank and his deflected shot from around 18 yards was well stopped by Blair down to his right.

With honours even at the full-time whistle, FC Isle of Man move a further point away from the bottom two whilst their opponents' winless run stretches to four games.

FC Isle of Man's next match will be away against City of Liverpool on Saturday, 25 October, kicking-off at The Community Ground in Burscough at 3pm.

Man of the Match: Charlie Higgins (FC Isle of Man)