FC Isle of Man wary of Barnoldswick Town threat this weekend

Ravens targeting back-to-back wins for first time since November

FC Isle of Man will be looking to make it back-to-back wins for the first time since November when they host Barnoldswick Town in the NWCFL Premier Division tomorrow evening (15 February).

After grinding out a late win at Glossop North End seven days ago, 'The Ravens' face a Barnoldswick side which secured an impressive 4-1 victory against FC St Helens in midweek.

The Manx side beat their latest visitors earlier in the season, but FC Isle of Man Manager Paul Jones believes their opponents have plenty of strong qualities they'll have to be wary of.

What's more, he's calling on his team to prove its resilience both this weekend and for the remaining weeks of the season:

A lot of time has elapsed during the campaign since these two teams last met back on 28 September last year - that day the Manx side struck twice late on to claim a 3-1 victory at the Silentnight Stadium.

Paul Jones' side have plenty of work to do to keep up their thin hopes of a play-offs as they remain seven points adrift of the play-off positions with two of those side in contention above them still having games in hand.

Meanwhile, Steve Pickup's Barnoldswick Town outfit sit 14th in the division on 49 points but are on a recent good run of three wins in their last four matches.

The latest of those saw them claim a comprehensive 4-1 home victory over FC St Helens on Tuesday (11 February) - another win this weekend could realistically see them move up as many as two places in the table.

The head-to-head record between FC Isle of Man and 'Barlick' is very evenly-matched.

Both sides have managed two victories over the other in their five meetings to date - the other was a thrilling 3-3 draw in their first encounter on Island back in September 2022.

FC Isle of Man vs Barnoldswick Town takes place Saturday, 15 February, at The Bowl in Douglas, kicking-off at 6pm.

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

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FC Isle of Man Team News

Two changes are made to the FC Isle of Man side which won late on in Derbyshire last weekend.

There's a rare absence for midfielder Danny Gerrard this week with Josh Kennaugh also dropping out.

Having missed the last two games through injury, Kyle Watson is fit enough to return with Joao Marques also recalled.

FC Isle of Man squad vs Barnoldswick Town

Adam Killey (GK), Adam Adebiyi, Sam Baines, Jacob Crook, Tom Creer, Sean Doyle, Charlie Higgins, Harley Jackson, Alex Maitland, Joao Marques, Ronan McDonnell, Jack McVey, Dean Pinnington, Callum Sherry, Kyle Watson, Ste Whitley