FC Isle of Man and Barnoldswick Town play out draw

Pinnington rescues point for 'The Ravens' in nervy encounter

A second-half finish from Dean Pinnington saw FC Isle of Man come from behind to claim a 1-1 draw with Barnoldswick Town this evening in the NWCFL Premier Division.

'The Ravens' visitors led in the first half after Lewis Farmer's cool low finish after a slick attacking move on 15 minutes.

Ten minutes into the second half, the hosts were level through Pinnington's powerful hit from the edge of the box which found the net in the 60th minute despite Barnoldswick Town goalkeeper Jack Howard getting a big hand on the shot.

Both sides then missed good opportunities at either end in the remainder of the second period as they had to settle for a point apiece at The Bowl.

Tonight's meeting saw FC Isle of Man hoping for a repeat of their victory over 'Barlick' in the reverse fixture back in September whilst the visitors were hoping to keep up their unbeaten streak on Manx shores.

Just three minutes in the Manx side came close as Pinnington saw a deflected effort from the edge of the box tipped wide by Howard.

Barnoldswick Town would take the lead though in the 15th minute when Ryan Moore teed up Farmer on the left edge of the penalty area before he swept a low first-time effort across FC Isle of Man stopper, Adam Killey into the far bottom corner.

Just before the half-hour mark, Pinnington came close again for FC Isle of Man as his curling strike from a tight angle on the right beat Howard but clipped the top of the crossbar.

The tempo of the contest rose going into the second period and FC Isle of Man drew level on the hour-mark.

Jacob Crook on the left flank cut back a pass to Pinnington on the edge of the box who struck sweetly at goal and, despite Howard getting a hand to the strike, the ball bobbled through to nestle in the bottom corner.

Just eight minutes later Barnoldswick Town broke through the FC Isle of Man defence with Moore on the left who squared to William Procter 12 yards out whose acrobatic volley was tipped onto the crossbar by Killey.

In a nervy final few minutes with spaces opening up across the pitch, neither side was able to find a final moment of quality in the final third as both eventually had to settle for a stalemate.

FC Isle of Man's next match will be at home against Colne on Saturday, 22 February, kicking-off at 6pm.

Man of the Match: Sam Baines (FC Isle of Man)