FC Isle of Man return home to face newly-promoted Abbey Hey

Ravens aiming for four straight wins to continue top-five momentum

After a successful two weeks on the road, FC Isle of Man will be looking to continue their top-five charge on home soil in the NWCFL Premier Division this weekend.

The Manx side host newly-promoted Abbey Hey at The Bowl on Saturday night with 'The Ravens' targeting a fourth straight victory.

The reverse fixture between the two sides in late September saw the Islanders claim a narrow 2-1 win despite coming under significant pressure in spells at The Abbey Stadium.

FC Isle of Man manager Paul Jones thinks recent performances have shown his team has the ability to get results in different ways:

Saturday's clash will see the meeting of two of the current in-form sides in the division.

Both teams have won four and lost two of their last six league outings, Abbey Hey have scored more in that time - 14 to FC Isle of Man's ten - but the Manx side have conceded slightly fewer - nine compared to Abbey Hey's 11.

The only time these clubs have met at The Bowl was back in FC Isle of Man's inaugural season in 2021/22 in NWCFL Division One South.

That game on 12 March 2022 ended all square as a Jordan Lazenbury strike in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time earned Abbey Hey a late 1-1 draw after Jack McVey had converted from the penalty spot.

Both would go on to reach the promotion play-offs that season before Abbey Hey exited in the play-off semi-finals at the hands of New Mills who in turn would fall at The Bowl against FC Isle of Man who claimed promotion in the final.

Back to now and maximum points at home tomorrow could see FC Isle of Man in fifth go as high as third, although this would require a victory by a huge margin and other results to go their way.

Meanwhile, Abbey Hey - currently residing in 13th spot - could propel themselves into the top half with a win on Manx shores.

FC Isle of Man vs Abbey Hey takes place this Saturday, 2 November, kicking-off at 6pm.

Manx Radio will be providing full live match commentary on our DAB and AM1368 channels.

FC Isle of Man team news

There are three changes to the FC Isle of Man side which earned a late win over Chadderton last weekend.

One defensive alteration sees Ryan Burns come back in for Jamie Corlett.

Ronan McDonnell drops out in the midfield as Danny Gerrard returns.

The attacking options of Joao Marques and Adam Adebiyi are also left out as there's call-ups once more for young striker Tom Creer and the experienced Dan Hattersley.

FC Isle of Man squad vs Abbey Hey

Adam Killey (GK), Sam Baines, Luke Booth, Ryan Burns, Tom Creer, Jacob Crook, Sean Doyle, Danny Gerrard, Dan Hattersley, Charlie Higgins, Nathan Little, Alex Maitland, Dean Pinnington, Callum Sherry, Kyle Watson, Ste Whitley